European aerospace firm Airbus Defence and Space will continue working with French satellite operator Eutelsat on the OneWeb low Earth orbit constellation, extending its capacity amid growing demand.
The two companies formalized the collaboration with a new contract, under which Airbus will deliver the first batch of an additional 100 satellites for the extended constellation by the end of 2026.
According to Airbus, the added satellites will provide new capabilities to the LEO constellation, including 5G on-ground integration and technology architecture compatibility with Europe’s future IRIS2 multi-orbit constellation.
Eutelsat Group CEO Eva Berneke shared that the decision to update OneWeb’s constellation comes with increasing demand for LEO capacity. “We are relying on our long-standing partner, Airbus, to begin building the first batches of the next generation of our OneWeb LEO constellation, which will ensure we deliver continuity of service of the existing constellation with enhanced service features,” the Eutelsat executive said.
Airbus secured another space tech-related contract in early December when the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence ordered advanced modems for its Skynet satellite communications network.