Europe's IRIS² Constellation Moves to Deployment with 348 Satellites, 5G NTN

The European Commission and SpaceRISE have signed the agreement for IRIS², a 348-satellite constellation using 5G NTN, as Europe counters US space dominance.

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The European Commission and the SpaceRISE consortium have signed the agreement to deploy IRIS², Europe's sovereign satellite constellation, marking a shift from planning to reality. The network will consist of 348 satellites, with 330 in low Earth orbit (LEO) and 18 in medium Earth orbit (MEO), according to the consortium. Compared to the original design, 66 additional LEO satellites have been added to strengthen defense, security, and emergency services, boosting secure governmental capacity by 60% within the EU and 54% globally.

The project, with a total investment exceeding €15.6 billion, is funded by €11.6 billion in public money and €4 billion from private sources. SpaceRISE, the consortium led by SES, Eutelsat, and Hispasat, will operate the constellation. The industrial chain includes Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space, OHB, and Aerospacelab. The European Commission has reserved two-thirds of the 2-GHz spectrum for IRIS², ensuring dedicated bandwidth for the system.

IRIS² will provide secure connectivity for EU governments and participating countries like Norway and Iceland, supporting emergencies, humanitarian aid, and border surveillance. Services are expected to begin in 2029, with some sources indicating 2030 for initial operations. The constellation is the third pillar of the EU space strategy, alongside Copernicus and Galileo.

A key technical feature is the use of 5G NTN (Non-Terrestrial Network) technology, announced by Eutelsat CEO Jean-François Fallacher on 7 August 2026. "Wir verwenden die 5G-NTN-Technologie. Für Iris² wollen wir die Technologie normalisieren," he said. He added that adopting standardized technologies will help reduce costs and enable cheaper, smaller antennas. The user terminals will operate in the Ka band (27–40 GHz) and be compatible with 5G NR NTN, supporting direct-to-mobile and IoT connectivity.

Hispasat, a Spanish operator majority-owned by Indra with an 89.68% stake, serves as the main contractor for the ground segment, which mobilizes over €1.6 billion. Hispasat also leads the Low LEO layer below 750 km altitude and commits up to €600 million for exploitation rights in strategic regions. Member states are contributing significantly: Poland has committed €656 million, Hungary €500 million, and Spain announced additional investments between €1.6 and €2 billion.

To accelerate terminal development, the European Commission opened a €20 million call in May 2026 for industrializing user terminals for IRIS² and GOVSATCOM. In parallel, the 5G-aNTeNna consortium, led by Silicon Austria Labs (SAL) and including CISC Semiconductor, EnSilica, FRITZ!, TechniSat, and Terma Technologies, is developing Ka-band 5G-NTN user terminals. EnSilica joined the consortium on August 5, 2026, and previously received £10.3 million ($13.1 million) under the UK Space Agency's C-LEO program. Ian Lankshear, EnSilica's CEO, said: "EnSilica’s involvement in the 5G-aNTeNna consortium is a natural extension of our work in satellite communications silicon and of our collaboration with other European partners." He added: "As satellite networks move towards wider deployment of 5G-NTN services, compact, electronically steerable user terminals will be critical, and our focus is on enabling the semiconductor technologies that make these systems practical and manufacturable for high-volume use."

Eutelsat, which operates 31 GEO satellites and acquired OneWeb in 2023, brings its LEO expertise to the consortium. Luis Mayo, Hispasat's CEO, highlighted the significance of the public-private collaboration, saying: "Este modelo de colaboración público-privada por primera vez en la UE permitirá crecer a nuestra industria más allá de las fronteras europeas, creando un equilibrio entre resiliencia y competitividad."