Eutelsat has placed an order for 229 additional OneWeb low-Earth orbit satellites from Airbus Defence and Space, in a deal unveiled in Paris during the International Space Summit. The new batch expands the planned Airbus-built OneWeb fleet for Eutelsat to 669 satellites and is intended to secure service continuity for the constellation while older spacecraft are phased out.
Airbus has begun initial industrial activities under an Authorisation to Proceed covering the latest satellites, which will be built at its Toulouse facility. The extra spacecraft will feature advanced digital channelisers, improved onboard processing and greater flexibility, along with capacity for hosted payloads.
Reuters reported the investment at about €1 billion and linked the replenishment plan to OneWeb operations through 2034, bridging the period until the European Union’s IRIS² communications constellation becomes fully available. The order follows previous Airbus commitments for 440 OneWeb satellites and extends an existing serial production line already delivering earlier batches.