Eutelsat has won a slew of new deals including an order under an agreement with the French Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans, and an agreement for Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) services in Angola.
Eutelsat signed a capacity contract through the French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA), as part of the Centaure contract, marking the first call-off contract under the 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion) NEXUS framework agreement, signed a year ago.
The total Centaure contract is valued at circa 350 million euros ($406 million), for a duration of up to eight years. It is comprised of an initial firm commitment of 138 million euros ($160 million) over a period of four years for LEO satellite capacity across multiple areas of strategic interest, as well as an initial stage aimed at enhancing the security of Eutelsat’s OneWeb services.
Eutelsat said this setup gives the French Armed Forces operational continuity and flexibility during the ramp-up of the European IRIS² program, while demonstrating “how trusted European commercial space infrastructure can complement sovereign defence assets and accelerate the deployment of next-generation capabilities.”
“The signature of the Centaure contract marks a major milestone in the implementation of the NEXUS framework agreement and reflects the continued trust placed by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces in the capabilities of our OneWeb constellation. In a profoundly transformed strategic environment, secure, resilient and low-latency connectivity has become a decisive driver of military operational effectiveness. With an infrastructure that is immediately available and field-proven, Eutelsat is now delivering a concrete response to the needs of the French Armed Forces,” Eutelsat CEO Jean‑François Fallacher, said in a statement.
In a second major deal in 24 hours, Eutelsat also announced it was teaming up with Mercury, a subsidiary of Sonangol Group and a provider of telecommunications services in Angola to provide LEO connectivity services. It is a multi-year, multi-million agreement that expands on previous work between the two companies.
Eutelsat is the only licensed LEO operator in Angola at this point and already has a significant operational presence in the country via its local partners. MSTelcom will continue to expand the reach of Eutelsat’s LEO services for enterprise, public sector, offshore and telecom customers across Angola.
