European Satellite Giants Unite to Challenge Starlink with IRIS²

A consortium of major European satellite companies, including Airbus Defence and Space, Eutelsat, SES, and Thales Alenia Space, plans to bid for a proposed satellite constellation to provide global communications similar to SpaceX's Starlink. The bid is in response to a request by the European Union for help in constructing a sovereign constellation to provide secure communications for government services. The partnership aims to create a state-of-the-art satellite constellation based on a multi-orbit architecture, with a budget of about 6 billion euro and a target date of 2027 for global coverage.