Written by: Antonio Sorbino
Supervised by: Victoriano Vicente Botella Berenguer
Edited by: Dimitra Pateraki
On December 16th, the European Commission signed the concession contract for constructing the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²). This contract was signed between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the industrial consortium SpaceRISE, which is comprised of Eutelsat, Hispasat, and SES. This space initiative involves the creation of a multi-orbital constellation of 290 satellites, leveraging the comparative advantages of satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) (European Commission, 2024a). This 12-year project embodies Europe’s strategic attempt to develop a viable alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink (Volpicelli & Palasciano, 2024). IRIS² involves joint public and private funding, with a total investment of €10.6 billion to ensure a connected European future. The European Union (EU) will contribute about €6 billion, the ESA €550 million, and the private sector €4 billion (European Space Agency, 2024).
This satellite system will play a crucial role in transforming the defence and security field, improving border and maritime surveillance, crisis management such as humanitarian aid, and protection of essential communications and infrastructure, including secure connections for European embassies (European Commission, 2024b). In addition, the framework will enhance response capabilities in maritime emergencies, force deployment, and EU external operations, as well as law enforcement interventions, ensuring greater security across Europe (European Commission, 2024b). In this way, IRIS² could foster greater military interoperability among EU member states, improving coordination and cohesion in defence and security operations. Therefore, this satellite constellation will play a pivotal role in managing military communication, replicating, to some extent, the American SpaceX’s Starshield system (Posaner, 2024).
The goal of IRIS² is not only to ensure secure satellite communication and connectivity but also to provide enhanced broadband deployment to governments, private businesses and individuals across Europe (Businnes Wire, 2024). Moreover, it aims to promote European strategic space autonomy in an increasingly interconnected yet volatile global landscape. In an era where space security is vital for the continent’s defence and security, this project strengthens the EU’s space capabilities by reducing dependence on external infrastructure and enhancing its resilience to emerging threats to European security (Foust, 2024). In this regard, the newly designated Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, stated that the launch of IRIS² represents not only a deployment of satellites but a strategic vision aimed at strengthening, connecting and enhancing Europe’s resilience (European Commission, 2024a). Thus, the project underscores the EU’s commitment to strengthen its role as a space actor in a heated geopolitical competition, highlighting its determination to ensure space autonomy and security. Therefore, for Kubilius, this move has both an industrial nature, such as the development and protection of European space infrastructure, and a strategic nature, intending to simultaneously stimulate innovation and technological progress, both of which are crucial for sustaining European competitiveness on a global scale.
Bibliography
Business Wire. (2024, December 16). IRIS2 lifts off as European Commission and SpaceRISE sign contract in Brussels. Business Wire. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241216141644/en/IRIS2-lifts-off-as-European-Commission-and-SpaceRISE-sign-contract-in-Brussels
European Commission. (2024a, December 16). Commission takes next step to deploy the IRIS² secure satellite system. European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_6439
European Commission. (2024b, December 16). IRIS²: The new EU Secure Satellite Constellation. European Commission. https://defence-industry-space.ec.europa.eu/eu-space/iris2-secure-connectivity_en
European Space Agency. (2024, December 16). ESA to support the development of EU’s secure communication satellites system. ESA. https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Corporate_news/ESA_to_support_the_development_of_EU_s_secure_communication_satellites_system
Foust, J. (2024, December 16). Europe signs contracts for IRIS² constellation. SpaceNews. https://spacenews.com/europe-signs-contracts-for-iris%C2%B2-constellation/
Posaner, J. (2024, December 16). Relax Elon — the EU isn’t an immediate threat to Starlink. POLITICO. https://www.politico.eu/article/relax-elon-musk-eu-threat-starlink-iris2-broadband-internet/
Volpicelli, G., & Palasciano, A. (2024, December 16). EU plans $11 billion in satellites in counter to Musk’s Starlink. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-16/eu-commits-to-internet-satellite-network-as-starlink-alternative
