Montreal: IRIS² satellites will carry digital antennas built by Canada’s MDA Space, the company announced at the end of October 2026. Under an initial agreement with Thales Alenia Space worth more than $100 million, MDA will supply antenna subsystems for the first 66 low Earth orbit spacecraft in the EU’s secure connectivity constellation.
The award marks a shift for the programme from political commitments to industrial delivery. Because the agreement is described as initial, later tranches could follow as the constellation grows. Via Satellite reported that the scope covers digital antenna subsystems for 66 satellites in low orbit.
The deal arrived alongside a diplomatic opening. A Canada-EU summit in Montreal launched negotiations on Canadian access to Galileo and opened exploratory talks on cooperation in IRIS². Canadian participation in the supply chain now gives those talks a commercial foundation.
The planned fleet of IRIS² satellites expanded sharply this summer. On 7 August 2026 the European Commission and the SpaceRISE consortium signed an implementation agreement that raised the constellation to 348 satellites. The agreement added a dedicated set of 66 satellites for defence, security and emergency services and set first launches for 2029.
Authorised government bodies in EU member states, Norway and Iceland will be the first users of the service. The European Space Agency oversees development, qualification and in-orbit validation together with the Commission and SpaceRISE. That governance model is meant to give Brussels sovereign control over secure communications for diplomats, crisis responders and armed forces.
Eutelsat, a core member of SpaceRISE, reported first-quarter revenue of €286 million on 29 October. Its low Earth orbit revenue rose 30% to €70.9 million, driven by OneWeb. The operator has linked part of its long-term growth story to IRIS² satellites, although published revenue targets for 2032-2040 differ between industry reports.
For European space policy, the Canadian contract raises a familiar question about sovereignty. The constellation exists to reduce reliance on non-European providers, yet its supply chain will include trusted partners outside the Union. Officials argue that cooperation with close allies strengthens resilience rather than weakening it, as long as control of the system stays in European hands.
The next milestones will test whether the 2029 launch date for the first IRIS² satellites holds. Antenna production, satellite integration and ground segment work must now run in parallel across several countries. Delays in any of them would push back the date when governments can rely on the network.
Canada’s entry also comes as Ottawa seeks closer ties with EU space programmes more broadly. If the exploratory talks mature into a formal arrangement, Canadian agencies could become users as well as suppliers. For now, the MDA contract shows that the first IRIS² satellites are moving from paper into production lines on both sides of the Atlantic.
