European Sovereignty Monitor

Defence and space

EU Commission and SpaceRISE sign IRIS2 implementation deal, expand to 348 satellites

EU Commission and SpaceRISE signed an implementation agreement expanding IRIS2 to 348 satellites (330 LEO, 18 MEO), raising secure EU governmental satcom capacity 60 percent; Poland pledged EUR 656 million, Hungary EUR 500 million toward the programme.

Verified European Commission (DG Defence Industry and Space) press release, 7 August 2026

What it does not test. Does not establish that the 2029 first-launch date will hold, nor that pledged member state contributions have actually been paid.

How this item counts. Towards autonomy: it changes who owns. Binding 2 of 3 (agreed or funded), scale 3 of 3 (large), Verified counts in full: weight +6 of 36 possible. EU-SpaceRISE deal expands EU-funded/owned IRIS2 to 348 sats; agreed, not launched; EU-wide. European Sovereignty Index

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Verified UK publishes GBP7.8 billion Space Strategy to 2030 Reported US firm AvL Technologies wins USD31 million satellite terminal deal for Poland Verified Sweden approves SEK 7 billion HIMARS buy, signs rocket artillery pact with Finland

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