ESA Programme Related to EU Secure Connectivity - IRIS²

Keeping European communications secure and resilient is a non-negotiable in today’s increasingly uncertain world. The multi-orbital constellation of at least 348 satellites will offer a solution by providing secure and uninterrupted connectivity for Europeans, where and when it matters most.

Europe relies on it to manage crises, strengthen defence readiness, support surveillance and situational awareness, and protect critical infrastructure such as energy grids and water management. It is equally crucial to opening new business opportunities, connecting underserved communities and bridging the digital divide.

Designed to reinforce Europe’s strategic autonomy, IRIS² will provide trusted governmental communications while enabling commercial services and wider connectivity for citizens and businesses.

The programme is now moving into an accelerated deployment phase, with a strong focus on governmental and security needs, resilience, interoperability and European technological sovereignty. ESA is playing a central role in the definition, development, validation and evolution of the system, working closely with the European Commission, Member States and industry.

Beyond delivering secure communications, IRIS² strengthens Europe’s capacity to innovate, taking the Old Continent into a new age of connectivity.

To implement IRIS², the European Commission signed the concession contract for the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²) with the SpaceRISE consortium in December 2024. On the same day, ESA signed a Partnership Project Contract with the SpaceRISE consortium.

While the European Commission owns the programme, ESA will qualify and validate the Hard Gov infrastructure (dedicated to secure government communications) designed and delivered by the SpaceRISE consortium for IRIS², meaning that it will ensure that it is qualified, secure, reliable and meets the agreed standards before it is operational. This involves ensuring that the infrastructure is tested under representative conditions, as well as confirming that the system works as expected in real-world conditions. EUSPA will be responsible for the operation of the programme for governmental users.

By developing the technology in Europe and operating from the continent, EU Member States are investing in their own knowledge and expertise, while ensuring European independence in space technologies for secure communications.

ESA's involvement in IRIS² is being implemented through its Programme Related to EU Secure Connectivity, divided into three elements. The first supports secure connectivity services for government-authorised users. The second focuses on testing and validating commercial connectivity services. The third looks further ahead, developing and demonstrating new governmental services and capabilities in the Low-LEO layer – around 750km above Earth – that could eventually become part of IRIS². The main idea behind this third element is to which aims to provide a rapid and recurrent mechanism for validating new potential governmental services and associated mission concepts in orbit at pre-operational level. It would support their maturation and potential integration into the operational EU IRIS² baseline, subject to future programme decisions.

IRIS² is intended to become the secure communications backbone for the European Resilience from Space (ERS) initiative, a component of a multi-domain system of systems bringing together telecommunications, navigation and Earth observation. ERS improve Europe's ability to mitigate and manage emergencies and use the most advanced space assets for near real-time critical operations to better serve the needs of European citizens and governments.