France Orders IRIS Spy Satellites From Airbus and Thales in €1.5 Billion Deal

France has ordered two new military Earth-observation satellites in a contract worth more than €1.5 billion, about $1.7 billion. The system, called IRIS, will be built by Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space and will keep France's space-based imaging intelligence running beyond 2035.

France's defence procurement agency, the DGA, announced the program on November 9 and said it notified the two companies of the order on November 5. The new satellites will take extremely high-resolution images day and night, in visible and infrared light, anywhere in the world.

From CSO to IRIS: France's military imaging satellites. Militrax graphic.

Replacing the CSO satellites

IRIS replaces the three CSO (Composante Spatiale Optique) satellites launched in 2018, 2020 and 2025. The first IRIS satellite will take over from CSO-1 and CSO-2 and is planned to be operational in 2033. Both satellites are expected in orbit around 2035. The second will significantly sharpen image resolution once the last CSO satellite retires.

The system will be run by the Space Command of the French Air and Space Force. The DGA called the program "resolutely open to cooperation," meaning partner countries could get access to it.

Who builds what

Airbus, which gave the over-€1.5 billion figure for the whole consortium, will supply the satellite platforms, a significant share of the first payload and the ground segment. Thales Alenia Space, owned 67% by Thales and 33% by Italy's Leonardo, will develop the second payload, provide critical parts of the first and contribute to the ground segment.

According to Thales, the satellites combine a very stable telescope with active optics, high-speed digital sensors and AI-based image processing. Thales Alenia Space chief executive Hervé Derrey said IRIS will carry the most advanced optical instrument ever built in Europe. French subcontractors include Lynred, Pyxalis, Sodern, Safran Reosc and Air Liquide Advanced Technologies.

Why it matters

France is one of the few European NATO members with its own constellation of high-end optical spy satellites. Many allies depend on lower-resolution systems or on intelligence shared by the United States. In January, President Emmanuel Macron said France was providing two-thirds of the intelligence capabilities supplied to Ukraine.

IRIS should not be confused with IRIS², the separate European Union satellite communications constellation.