OneWeb satellites in production. Credit: Airbus Defence and Space
LA PLATA, Maryland — Eutelsat’s follow-on contract with Airbus for 340 OneWeb satellites confirms the company’s estimated 2.2-billion-euro ($2.56 billion) commitment to maintaining OneWeb’s Gen 1 constellation into the 2030s before transitioning into the European Commission’s Iris2 secure communications network.
Eutelsat ordered a first tranche of 100 OneWeb Gen 1 continuity satellites in December 2024 and had to wait until it had stabilized its balance sheet before making the final order, which was announced Jan. 12.
Eutelsat raised some 1.5 billion euros in December in transactions that saw the French government increase its stake in the company to 29.65%.
Eutelsat said the Airbus satellites, all being manufactured at Airbus’s Toulouse, France, facility, will be launched starting in 2026 to replace aging Gen 1 spacecraft, launched between 2019 and 2024.
Most of the current OneWeb satellites were built by an Airbus-Eutelsat joint venture, Airbus OneWeb Satellites, located in Florida. Eutelsat sold its share in the business to Airbus in early 2024. The Merritt Island, Florida, facility is now used to build satellites for other Airbus customers.
The French Ministry of Defense in June signed a 10-year, 1-billion-euro contract for OneWeb capacity that included providing input on design tweaks to make OneWeb more appealing to military users in advance of the transition to Iris2.
These modifications include the possibility of hosting French military payloads on the OneWeb Gen 1 replacements.
In its Jan. 12 statement, Eutelsat said the 340 new Airbus OneWebs “will integrate technology upgrades including advanced digital channelisers, enabling enhanced on-board processing capabilities as well as greater efficiency and flexibility.
“They incorporate optimized architecture designed to maximize long-term operational performance. With these latest satellites, Eutelsat will also be evaluating opportunities for new business cases, notably through embarkation capabilities for hosted payloads.”
Credit: Eutelsat
Eutelsat is approaching other European defense ministries in the hope of securing similar deals. French President Emmanuel Macron has said he would be soliciting interest by other governments to take ownership stakes in Eutelsat as the supplier of the Iris2 LEO constellation.
Eutelsat Chief Executive Jean-François Fallacher warned the French parliament in December that not all future OneWebs would be launched on European rockets given the timing of the Gen 1 replenishment.
It is likely, he said, that the company will make further use of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which can carry 45 OneWebs at a time. The European Ariane 6 can carry 90 OneWebs but has a full manifest in 2026 and for the most part of 2027 as well.
Eutelsat continues to seek export-credit-agency financing for its OneWeb and Iris2 investment. OneWeb is registered in the UK and in France, and is looking for financing from both the French Bpifrance and UK Export Finance.
OneWeb’s satellite constellation of some 640 satellites at 1,200 kilometers in altitude has been in place for some time. But the ground network of 44 gateway Earth stations has been slow to deploy. Eutelsat has said it expects all 44 to be operational in the first weeks of 2026.
Eutelsat has entered into a sale-and-leaseback agreement with the Sweden-based EQT Infrastructure VI Fund to sell 80% of the value of its ground network, which consists of 1,400 antennas at 100-plus locations. Eutelsat will retain a 20% stake and expects net proceeds of around 500 million euros from the sale, which is expected to close early this year.