France orders military Earth-observation satellites for more than €1.5 billion

PARIS — France ordered two military Earth-observation satellites from Airbus and Thales Alenia Space for more than €1.5 billion (US$1.7 billion) to replace three existing orbiters, and to maintain a space-based image-intelligence capability beyond 2035.

The new satellites in the IRIS system will have an improved operational performance in terms of quality and the speed of making images available compared to the current CSO satellites, France’s Directorate General of Armament said on Monday. They’ll be able to take extremely high resolution images day and night in both the visible and the infrared spectrum around the world, the DGA said.

France is one of the few European NATO members with a sovereign constellation of high-end optical spy satellites, with many allies relying on lower-resolution assets and intelligence supplied by the United States. French President Emmanuel Macron said in January that France was providing two thirds of the intelligence capabilities supplied to Ukraine.

“The IRIS program aims to ensure the continuity of this capability while improving performance to meet the needs of the forces in a rapidly evolving strategic environment,” the DGA said.

The contract represents a value of more than €1.5 billion for the entire consortium, Airbus said in a separate statement. Airbus said it will provide the satellite platforms, a “significant share” of the payload on the first satellite and be responsible for the ground segment, while Thales Alenia Space will develop the second payload, provide critical elements of the first and contribute to the ground segment.

The new system, called IRIS after the French abbreviation of Instruments for Space Intelligence and Imaging, will be operated by the Space Command within the French Air and Space Force, though the DGA said the program is “resolutely open to cooperation” to allow partner countries to access the system.

The first of the new satellites is planned to become operational in 2033, with both in orbit around 2035, according to the DGA. The three satellites in the existing CSO system, for Composante Spatiale Optique, were launched in 2018, 2020 and 2025, respectively.

The DGA said it notified Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space of the satellite order on Nov. 5. Subcontractors include Lynred, Pyxalis, Sodern, Safran Reosc and Air Liquide Advanced Technologies, according to the DGA.

The first IRIS satellite will replace the existing CSO-1 and CSO-2 satellites to ensure continuity of France’s space-based imagery intelligence capability, Thales said in a separate statement. After the end of the operational life of the last CSO satellite, the second IRIS satellite will “significantly enhance” image-resolution performance, it said.

Technologies developed for the IRIS system include a “hyper-stable” telescope with active optics, ultra-sensitive high-speed digital sensors and AI-based image processing, according to Thales, which owns 67% of Thales Alenia Space, with the remainder held by Italy’s Leonardo.

IRIS will integrate “the most advanced optical instrument ever built in Europe,” Thales Alenia Space CEO Hervé Derrey said in the statement.