Europe's IRIS² Satellite Network Takes Shape Amid Delays

The European Union is building a 348-satellite network to keep governments, companies and citizens connected, with the goal of closing mobile coverage gaps in Europe and Africa. Called IRIS², the project is the bloc’s answer to commercial satellite services that have become central to security and communications. Its encryption will use quantum technology through the European quantum communication infrastructure EuroQCI.

Structure and Schedule

The European Commission and the SpaceRISE consortium agreed on implementation in early August. The planned network will include 330 satellites in low Earth orbit and 18 in medium Earth orbit, plus 66 satellites intended to strengthen defence, security and emergency services. Commission calculations project a 60 percent increase in secured capacity for public-sector users in the EU and a 54 percent increase worldwide. States, the military and critical services will get priority, while private individuals are expected to gain access later.

The first satellites are scheduled to launch in 2029, with initial services due to arrive gradually from 2029 or 2030. That timeline is far from certain. Media reports said the original plan called for launches two years earlier, and experts identify rocket capacity as the chokepoint. Andreas Knopp of the Bundeswehr University Munich told the weekly paper Das Parlament that launch numbers are limited. Political scientist Antje Nötzold of TU Chemnitz described a “launcher problem” to MDR.

Europe relies heavily on Ariane 6, which has launched since 2024. The rocket has flown four times so far this year, including three missions carrying satellites for Amazon Leo, the US company’s internet service intended to compete with Starlink. Amazon has booked at least 18 Ariane 6 launches. Operators unable to launch their own satellites remain dependent on others. That’s the uncomfortable reality behind Europe’s ambitions. In early August, the Commission named procurement of launch services for IRIS² as one of its next steps.

Germany’s Stake

Germany’s share of the project has sparked contention from the start. In December 2023, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs sent companies involved a strongly worded letter demanding urgent clarification of German industry’s participation and its share in value creation, the Frankfurter Rundschau daily reported.

Bremen-based Orbitale Hochtechnologie Bremen (OHB) has since won a major role. On 31 August, OHB signed a contract worth just under €1 billion with satellite operator SES for 18 IRIS² satellites in medium Earth orbit, each weighing around 2.6 tonnes at launch. OHB chief executive Marco Fuchs sees the programme as an important step towards greater European independence.

Other players dominate the low-orbit segment. Aerospacelab, founded in 2018 and based in Charleroi, Belgium, is building 264 low Earth orbit satellites under an order the company values at €2.4 billion, with delivery due by 2030. Its planned Charleroi factory is set to produce up to 500 satellites a year from 2027. Airbus is building at least 66 satellites in the first layer for military communication, due to be ready in 2029.

The Sovereignty Question

Recent events have sharpened the debate over dependence. This week, the Ukrainian army reported restrictions to Starlink: connections drop when receivers travel faster than 160 kilometres per hour, as drones do. The service was partially restored, but an upper limit remained. Who ordered the restriction isn’t clear. SpaceX boss Elon Musk denied that the company ordered the shutdown, writing on X that Starshield is under the direct control of the US government.

Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski responded sharply on X: “Hey, Elon Musk, you big man, are you once again playing politics with your products? As your European customers we are keeping a close eye on you.” Poland has paid for a large share of the Ukrainian terminals. For a continent whose security increasingly runs over orbit, the episode made the case for a European alternative more forcefully than any policy paper could.

Germany is pursuing its own path as well. Major General Armin Fleischmann, the Bundeswehr’s space commissioner in the Cyber and Information Domain, told regional public broadcaster MDR that the plan is for a constellation similar to Starlink, but smaller. Defence minister Boris Pistorius announced in September 2025 that €35 billion would be invested in military space projects by 2030. The Bundeswehr project, SATCOMBw 4, could eventually comprise a three-digit number of satellites costing between eight and ten billion euros. An initial partial constellation of up to 40 satellites is scheduled for 2029, with full operations planned from 2030. The bid is contested by the joint venture “OHB Rheinmetall Space Networks,” with OHB responsible for satellites and Rheinmetall for ground stations and end devices. No decision has been taken.

What Comes Next

The Bundeswehr currently relies on two satellites in geostationary orbit, COMSATBw-1 and COMSATBw-2, launched in 2009 and 2010. Airbus is building their successors, scheduled for handover in orbit in 2029. Germany’s first of three SARah radar satellites launched in 2022 on a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX. The mission shows how much of Europe’s space capacity still runs through American hands.

Why This Matters:

Satellite connectivity now supports everything from emergency response to military communication. People hit hardest by a service cut are often those with the fewest alternatives. IRIS² promises secure, European-controlled links and better coverage across Europe and Africa, but its success depends on rockets that don’t yet have the capacity to meet the schedule. The gap between Brussels’ ambitions and what launch infrastructure can deliver is the central test. Democratic oversight matters too: decisions about who controls critical communications should be made transparently, with public accountability, rather than left to a handful of private operators or one government’s discretion. Europe has the industrial base and political motive to build something durable, but only if it invests in launch capacity and keeps the public interest at the centre of the design.