Eutelsat orders 340 OneWeb satellites from Airbus
Eutelsat, the satellite operator backed by the French and British governments, has placed an order with Airbus for 340 satellites to upgrade and expand its OneWeb low-Earth-orbit constellation, the companies announced on Monday.
The newly ordered satellites are intended to ensure the continuity of OneWeb’s services by gradually replacing the earliest satellites as they reach the end of their operational lifespans, Eutelsat said, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
OneWeb launched its first satellites around six years ago, prior to the London-based operator’s merger with Eutelsat in 2023.
This latest order, together with 100 satellites purchased in December 2024, brings the total number of satellites contracted for the OneWeb network to 440. Deliveries of the new satellites are expected to begin toward the end of 2026.
Financial details of the contract were not disclosed, but Eutelsat had previously said extending the constellation until the availability of the European Union's IRIS² constellation would require a further 340 satellites on top of an initial committed batch of 100. That would put the total cost of the extension programme at around 2 billion euros to 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion and $2.6 billion) between 2024 and 2029, Eutelsat said last year.
Eutelsat drew increased attention from European governments last year because it owns the only other low Earth orbit constellation besides Elon Musk's Starlink. These satellites are used to beam internet from space, providing broadband connectivity to businesses, governments and consumers in underserved areas.
France led a 1.5-billion-euro capital increase in 2025, joined by the UK and other anchor investors, to strengthen the satellite operator's finances as it seeks to compete with Starlink.
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