• Signaling a strategic evolution in France’s space strategy, combining military and civilian resources
• Underscoring the crucial role of low Earth orbit (LEO) constellations in defense applications
• Providing strategic in-space resources in advance of the availability of the IRIS² constellation

Eutelsat and France’s armed forces ministry (Direction générale de l’armement) have today announced a landmark framework agreement on the occasion of the Paris Airshow.

The agreement is the embodiment of the NEXUS (Neo-Espace pour de multiples Usages Sécurisés) program launched by the French Ministry of Defence, which aims to reinforce the current French military space communications model by combining military and civilian resources.

France reaffirms its commitment to the European IRIS² program, which has been supported from the outset since the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2022. However, the urgency of the international situation means that it cannot wait until then.

As the first concrete step in the NEXUS project, the French defense procurement agency (DGA) has reached a 10-year framework agreement, valued at up to €1 billion in expenditure, with Eutelsat, covering the supply of priority-access space resources (notably capacity on Eutelsat’s OneWeb LEO constellation), the hosting of ancillary missions for the French armed forces, and operational and security maintenance. The agreement also covers the upgrading and securing of the constellation for military grade use.

Jean-Francois Fallacher, Chief Executive Officer of Eutelsat commented: “We are honored at the prospect of supporting the French armed forces through this historic agreement, which underscores the crucial role of low earth orbit satellite capacity in responding to the requirements of contemporary operational theaters. Eutelsat today offers the only commercially operated LEO constellation capable of meeting stringent military standards ahead of the deployment of IRIS². It provides global coverage, low latency, rapid deployment, and adaptability to mobile use cases, attributes validated by successful large-scale experiments conducted with the French Armed Forces.”

Source: BUSINESS WIRE