The European Space Agency (ESA), acting on behalf of the EU Agency for the Space Programme under a delegation of the European Commission, has awarded Airbus a contract to build two additional second-generation Galileo satellites, the company said in Ottobrunn, Germany, on 27 October 2026. The additional pair builds on an existing order of six second-generation Galileo satellites and will benefit from existing manufacturing capabilities.

“With these contracts, ESA and European industry are safeguarding the continuity of Europe’s satellite navigation services, responding to the evolving needs of users, and strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy. These contracts represent an investment in Europe’s ability to navigate its own future, independently and with confidence,” said Laurent Jaffart, ESA Director of Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity.

“This latest award for two additional sophisticated Galileo satellites underscores Airbus’ satellite manufacturing expertise. We are committed to delivering these next-generation satellites which are vital to augment navigation capabilities for European security and defence and wider societal benefits,” said Alain Fauré, Head of Space Systems at Airbus.

The new satellites will incorporate enhanced navigation antennas to improve the accuracy of the Galileo system, along with fully digital payloads that are reconfigurable in orbit, enabling them to respond to evolving user needs with new signals and services. Airbus will draw on its coordinated production programme across sites including Backnang, Friedrichshafen, Getafe, Ottobrunn and Toulouse. Each satellite will incorporate an enhanced atomic clock configuration and inter-satellite links, along with advanced anti-jamming and anti-spoofing capabilities, and will weigh more than two tonnes with a planned operational life of 15 years.

Note: Galileo is a flagship programme of the EU, funded by the European Union and managed by the European Commission, with ESA leading design, development and qualification of the space and ground systems and the EU Agency for the Space Programme overseeing service operations.