Bremen, GERMANY — The European Commission is drawing up a list of military-ready satellite services that would be useful for capitals under a brand new EU constellation, Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius told Euractiv.

As part of efforts to bolster the bloc’s defences, the EU wants to launch a project that would see billions of euros invested in satellites capable of beaming high-definition imagery of any location on Earth back to governments at intervals of around 30 minutes.

“Since the geointelligence data is much needed. we shall look also into the possibility, in the first stage… to use commercial data, and to look at how we can integrate national assets, then in parallel build a whole new EU system,” Kubilius said.

A review of the necessary user requirements should be ready in the new year, the ex-Lithuanian leader added, with talks then also contingent on how the funds earmarked for defence and space are carved up in the EU’s next long-term budget.

“Member states are asking and we are preparing what is called user requirements – what do they need specifically,” he said. “This is a crucial, strategic project.”

While billions will be needed from the EU budget, member countries of the European Space Agency (ESA) – which overlap with the EU but also include Switzerland, Norway, and the UK – agreed last week to provide €1.2 billion toward early work on the scheme.

In addition to observation systems, the programme would also have navigation and communication components.

ESA ministers have been given another year to decide whether they want to contribute further funding, officials confirmed after a ministerial meeting in Bremen, with weekly talks underway with the Commission’ technical experts on the constellation’s final design.

The Commission has already indicated that it wants to launch a so-called Space Shield initiative in 2026 which will include Earth monitoring capabilities.

Defining and deploying

The next step for Kubilius’ team is to flesh out a political mandate for the network and define how it will be deployed with ESA.

The EU already has three of what it calls ‘flagship’ space programmes, with Galileo, the world’s most accurate geo-navigation constellation, and Copernicus, a network of Earth observation spacecraft and ground stations to monitor climate change, already operational.

The third, dubbed IRIS², is planned as a robust alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite communications network. A consortium of Europe’s major aerospace players is currently drafting a technical plan to deploy 282 satellites into various orbits. That’s also expected to land in the early months of 2026.

Speaking in Bremen, Kubilius said he wasn’t opposed to efforts by Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo – which are all working on IRIS² – to merge their space businesses to better compete in the global satellite market.

“We should not be afraid of size… that is what makes our competitive capabilities better,” Kubilius said, adding that it was for EU competition chiefs to fully assess the impact of any deal on the European market.

(aw, cm)