Airbus will launch 100 new satellites to expand OneWeb, the low-Earth orbit communications constellation partly owned by the UK government.

OneWeb operator Eutelsat said the firm would help to build the constellation’s second generation of satellites that will include various upgrades, including integration with 5G networks back on Earth.

Around 100 new satellites will be built by Airbus, which will also be designed for compatibility with Europe’s upcoming IRIS2 (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite) constellation. Once complete, the €6bn IRIS2 will provide secure communications, location tracking and security surveillance services to governmental agencies, although it will not have the capacity for broader coverage provided by similar services such as Elon Musk’s Starlink.

OneWeb completed its initial constellation of 654 first-generation satellites in March 2023. They orbit at an altitude of around 1,200km above the Earth, with 600 used for coverage...