Airbus, Telespazio to market Syracuse IV satellites
Airbus and Leonardo-Thales joint venture, Telespazio, have set up a partnership to market military telecommunications services for armed and security forces using the future Syracuse IV satellites.
The services will be offered under a French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA), Airbus, Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio financing initiative, enabling any excess satellite capacity to be sold to third-party customers, bringing down the total cost of ownership of the Syracuse IV system.
The contracts, which will run over a ten-year period, will enable allied countries or organisations to be offered simple, flexible and reactive access to a strategic resource. Airbus and Telespazio will sell Syracuse IV satellite capacity and various high-added-value services such as anchor capacity (connection of satellite communications to the ground networks of third-party customers), end-to-end services with capacity and throughput guarantees, engineering and maintenance services.
These services will be accessible over a broad area ranging from French Guiana to the Straits of Malacca and will be deployed for maritime, terrestrial and air uses. Allied forces will have access to communication capacity in X-band, military Ka-band and X/Ka dual-band mode, offering flexibility while benefiting from the highest levels of protection and hardening provided for in the NATO standards. Units deployed in the field will be able to exchange video, voice and data via all-IP communications at rates of up to several hundred Mbit/s.
Syracuse IV consists of two military satellites, Syracuse 4A and 4B, plus ground stations to ensure communications in the operational areas and with mainland France. The electric-propulsion geostationary satellites are being built by an industrial group consisting of Thales Alenia Space and Airbus, with launch planned for 2022. A third satellite will be added circa 2030 in order to meet growing requirements, in particular the needs of manned and unmanned aircraft.
You may also like
More from Digital Battlespace
-
![Babcock nears first customer for Nomad AI translation tool]()
Babcock nears first customer for Nomad AI translation tool
Nomad can provide militaries with real-time intelligence, saving critical time on the battlefield.
-
![AUSA 2025: Israel’s Asio Technologies to supply hundreds of improved Taurus tactical systems]()
AUSA 2025: Israel’s Asio Technologies to supply hundreds of improved Taurus tactical systems
Taurus operates alongside the Israel Defense Forces’ Orion system which supports mission management across tens of thousands of manoeuvring forces, from squad leaders to battalion commanders.
-
![AUSA 2025: Kopin pushes micro-LED plans as China moves faster]()
AUSA 2025: Kopin pushes micro-LED plans as China moves faster
The plan for the new displays follows fresh investment in Kopin’s European facilities by Theon and an order for head-up displays in fielded aircraft, with funding from the US Department of Defense.
-
![AUSA 2025: Persistent Systems to complete its largest order by year’s end]()
AUSA 2025: Persistent Systems to complete its largest order by year’s end
Persistent Systems received its largest ever single order for its MPU5 devices and other systems earlier this month and has already delivered the 50 units to the US Army’s 4th Infantry Division.
-
![Aselsan brings in dozens of companies and systems under the Steel Dome umbrella]()
Aselsan brings in dozens of companies and systems under the Steel Dome umbrella
Turkey has joined the family of countries attempting to establish a multilayered air defence system with government approval in August 2024 for the effort landed by Aselsan. Dubbed Steel Dome, the programme joins Israel’s Iron Dome, the US Golden Dome, India’s Mission Sudarshan Chakra and South Korea’s low-altitude missile defence system.
-
![DSEI 2025: MARSS unveils new agnostic multidomain C4 system]()
DSEI 2025: MARSS unveils new agnostic multidomain C4 system
MARSS’ NiDAR system has been deployed using sensors from static platforms to provide detection and protection for static sights, such as critical infrastructure, ports and military bases.
