AIRBUS AND UNSEENLABS TO RENEW FRANCE’S SPACE-BASED SIGINT CAPABILITY

On the sidelines of the International Space Summit in Paris, Catherine Vautrin, France’s Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans’ Affairs, announced that the Directorate-General for Armament (DGA) has awarded the CASSIOPÉE contract to Airbus Defence and Space as lead contractor, with Unseenlabs as co-contractor, launching the renewal of France’s space-based signal intelligence (SIGINT) capability. Airbus will act as system integrator, providing the ground segment and control centre along with a satellite solution based on its S250 platform, most recently used for the CO3D constellation. Unseenlabs will contribute mission planning and ground and on-board processing expertise, deliver its own ground segment, and supply an innovative payload.

WHAT CASSIOPÉE REPLACES

By 2032, CASSIOPÉE will succeed the CERES constellation to ensure France retains an operational space-based SIGINT capability, offering improved technical performance and greater responsiveness alongside the existing capability. CASSIOPÉE forms the sovereign core of the wider CELESTE (Space Electromagnetic Capability) programme. Space-based SIGINT, gathered through the collection and analysis of electromagnetic signals such as radar and telecommunications emissions, enables detection, characterisation and tracking of transmitters that could threaten areas of strategic interest, and France frames the programme’s continuity as a matter of sovereignty underpinning national autonomy in situation assessment and decision-making. “With this contract, Airbus Defence and Space is contributing to France’s sovereignty and strategic autonomy,” said Alain Fauré, Head of Space Systems at Airbus Defence and Space. “Through our partnership with Unseenlabs, it confirms the vitality of the French space ecosystem.” Clément Galic, co-founder and CEO of Unseenlabs, said: “We are particularly proud to be putting the technological and operational expertise developed by Unseenlabs at the service of this capability, which is essential to French autonomy. CASSIOPÉE illustrates the synergy between Airbus, a long-standing player in the space industry, and Unseenlabs, a pioneering company in the French New Space sector. By combining our expertise, we will help equip France with a sovereign, high-performance space-based SIGINT system that is tailored to new operational challenges.”

ALSO TODAY: AIRBUS OPENS A SHARE BUYBACK TIED TO EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION

Separately, Airbus SE has begun a share buyback programme to support future employee share ownership plans and equity-based compensation, running in the open market from 11 September to no later than 6 November 2026 for up to 4,100,000 shares. Airbus has mandated an independent investment firm to manage the timing of purchases, and the programme runs under the EU Market Abuse Regulation and its Delegated Regulation, using authority shareholders granted the Airbus Board at the company’s 14 April 2026 Annual General Meeting to repurchase up to 10 percent of issued share capital. Airbus frames the buyback as supporting employee compensation plans while avoiding dilution of existing shareholders.