Airbus Defence and Space has secured a contract from Eutelsat to build 340 new satellites to renew its OneWeb low-Earth orbit constellation.
The satellites will be produced in Toulouse on a newly established production line and are set for delivery starting at the end of 2026, Airbus revealed in a joint statement.
Eutelsat has confirmed that these satellites will integrate into its low-Earth orbit constellation, which competes in the business-to-business market against SpaceX’s Starlink service.
According to Eutelsat, the new satellites will gradually replace the initial batches nearing the end of their lifespan while also opening up new commercial opportunities.
The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the contract.
This latest order follows a previous agreement in December 2024, bringing the total number of satellites supplied by Airbus to Eutelsat to 440.
In December, Eutelsat completed a capital increase of approximately €1.5 billion, with financial support from France and the United Kingdom among others.
Since merging with British firm OneWeb in 2023, the French group has pivoted its strategy towards the low-Earth orbit connectivity market, which powers telecommunications services.
Eutelsat operates more than 600 satellites in low-Earth orbit and has seen rapid growth in this sector while its traditional television broadcasting business continues to decline.
