Eutelsat (OneWeb)

Eutelsat authorised Airbus to proceed with 229 more OneWeb satellites on 10 Sep 2026, an estimated €1B, bringing its refresh order to 669 spacecraft across three tranches since late 2024 and extending network continuity to 2034. First deliveries from the existing 440-unit order are due in Q4 2026; the new satellites carry digital channelisers for onboard processing and can host third-party payloads. Separately Eutelsat named Belgium's Aerospacelab prime contractor for 264 IRIS² platforms under a €2.4B contract. This is replacement capacity, not growth: OneWeb's first generation is ageing, and the order buys the constellation a decade rather than closing the gap with Starlink's scale.