Satellite operator Eutelsat has ordered 340 satellites from Airbus Defence and Space to replenish the OneWeb constellation. The company had previously signed a contract for the delivery of another 100 satellites.
OneWeb is a satellite constellation designed to provide global broadband internet service. The deployment of the first generation of the constellation was completed in 2024, and it currently consists of 648 spacecraft.
These satellites are expected to reach the end of their design life in 2027-2028. Therefore, Eutelsat is actively preparing to replace them. Back in late 2024, the company signed a contract with Airbus for the delivery of 100 new satellites. On January 12, 2026, it was expanded to 440 satellites.
This decision was made after Eutelsat raised €828 million from its main shareholders in November 2025. These shareholders also participated in a separate €670 million capital raising announced on December 12. The financial terms of the deal with Airbus have not been disclosed, but Eutelsat had previously planned to spend around €2.2 billion on the acquisition of the satellites. Deliveries of the first satellites are expected to begin in late 2026.
The first generation of satellites were built in Florida by Airbus OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between Airbus and OneWeb. This joint venture was dissolved two years ago when Airbus bought a 50% stake in Eutelsat for an undisclosed amount. Airbus continues to operate the Florida facility but has stated that new OneWeb satellites will be built in Toulouse, France, on a new production line. “This is another step towards European sovereignty,” Airbus said in a statement.
The companies plan to incorporate technological improvements into the new satellites, including advanced digital payloads and onboard data processing. Space computing company Ramon.Space announced in May that it had won a contract to supply digital payloads for at least 70 of the first 100 new satellites. They will enable better integration with Eutelsat’s fleet of geostationary communications satellites, as well as with the IRIS² constellation currently under development. Eutelsat plans to invest around €2 billion in IRIS² alongside other companies and European governments, with deployment scheduled to begin by the end of the decade.
Exactly how Eutelsat plans to launch new satellites is still unknown. Before Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian rockets were used to launch OneWeb. After severing ties with the aggressor country, the company had to use SpaceX’s services.
According to Spacenews
