France’s Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) has announced that it has awarded an Airbus-led team a contract worth more than €1.5 billion for the development and production of IRIS imaging satellites…
The contract covers the design, production and qualification of two satellites, as well as the development of ground systems for satellite control and access to the imagery collected, along with in-orbit operations and maintenance activities.
Under the programme, Airbus Defence and Space will manufacture both satellite platforms, supply a significant portion of the imaging payload for the first satellite and lead the development of the ground systems.
Thales Alenia Space will develop the payload for the second satellite, provide key components for the first satellite and contribute to the development of the ground systems.
The IRIS programme will replace the Optical Space Component (CSO) satellites currently used for intelligence gathering.
The new satellites will provide higher-resolution imagery and enable the French Armed Forces to access the collected images more quickly.
Equipped with visible-light and infrared sensors, the satellites will be capable of capturing extremely high-resolution images of any location on Earth, both day and night…