MDA Space Signs $100M-Plus Antenna Agreement for 66 IRIS² Satellites

MDA Space Ltd. (MDA ) has entered into an agreement with Thales Alenia Space to begin work on MDA AURORA broadband digital phased array antennas and a digital antenna controller for the 66 “Layer 1” satellites of IRIS², the EU Secure Connectivity Programme, in low Earth orbit, the company announced on October 30, 2026. The authorization-to-proceed (ATP) agreement is valued at more than $100 million, a figure the release stated without a currency qualifier.

Thales Alenia Space is a joint venture between Thales, which holds 67%, and Leonardo, which holds 33%. MDA Space said the IRIS² ATP contract will be included in its backlog in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, and that the definitive contract for its full scope of work is subject to contract finalization. The company described IRIS², which stands for Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite, as the future standard bearer for Europe’s autonomous and sovereign space capability.

“Entering into this ATP to deliver critical digital antenna subsystems for the first set of Layer 1 IRIS2 satellites, to be launched in 2029, is a landmark moment for MDA Space and our MDA AURORA technology,” said Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA Space. “This critical role reflects the confidence Thales Alenia Space and the European Commission have placed in our ability to offer quickly performing, interoperable connectivity that meets the requirements of the Layer 1 satellites.”

MDA Space said the MDA AURORA direct radiating arrays, with their digital beamforming capabilities and performance, will serve as key enablers within the program. The MDA AURORA system and associated subsystems are engineered for high-volume production and are designed, manufactured and tested at MDA Space’s Montréal facility. The company said the mandate adds to its national sovereign programs of record, drawing on its experience in high-performance satellite payloads and SATCOM technology for private-sector and government customers.

IRIS² Concession and 2026 Expansion

The European Commission awarded the 12-year IRIS² concession contract to the SpaceRISE consortium, composed of satellite network operators SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat, on October 31, 2024, after completing its evaluation of an optimized best-and-final offer received on September 3, 2024, according to the Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space. The concession is a public-private partnership covering a system then described as more than 290 satellites on various orbits plus an associated ground segment, intended to provide governmental services by 2030 while enabling commercial services.

The concession is funded by the European Union, the European Space Agency and private investment by the consortium, with the Commission first proceeding with a budgetary commitment for the current multiannual financial framework and additional amounts possible after December 31, 2027, subject to the adoption of a successor programme by the European Parliament and Council and the availability of the corresponding appropriations. The core subcontractor team named at award included Thales Alenia Space, OHB, Airbus Defence and Space, Telespazio, Deutsche Telekom (DTE.DE ), Orange, Hisdesat and Thales SIX. The concession contract was signed on December 16, 2024, according to SpaceRISE.

On August 6, 2026, the Commission and SpaceRISE concluded negotiations known as Rendezvous 1, which had begun in January 2026, and signed an implementation agreement that added 66 low Earth orbit satellites to the program, brought the main constellation to 348 satellites and moved it from planning to full-scale deployment, SpaceRISE said. First launches are targeted by 2029. The consortium said the reinforcement increases secure governmental capacity by 60% within the EU and 54% globally, and that funding will come from a combination of EU budget resources for 2028 to 2034 and additional investments from member states and third countries. Poland and Hungary have committed €656 million and €500 million respectively, Spain has announced investments between €1.6 billion and €2 billion, and Norway and Iceland are participating countries, according to SpaceRISE.

Constellation Architecture and Layer One Workshare

The IRIS² system comprises 348 satellites: 330 in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 1,200 kilometers, of which 66 are Ka-only spacecraft and 264 carry dual Ku/Ka capability, and 18 in medium Earth orbit at 8,000 kilometers, with the satellites communicating through optical inter-satellite links. Thales Alenia Space announced on September 10, 2026 that it had signed a Letter of Agreement with Eutelsat to provide the governmental payloads for the 330 low Earth orbit satellites, an order it described as a tranche of approximately €500 million out of a total IRIS² contract size for the company set to exceed €3 billion.

For Layer One, the first 66 Ka-only low Earth orbit satellites to be launched in 2029, Thales Alenia Space is developing the payloads while Airbus Defence and Space provides the satellite platforms; the MDA Space agreement covers the digital antenna subsystems for these satellites. For Layer Two, comprising 264 Ku/Ka satellites with launches starting in 2030, Thales Alenia Space is responsible for the governmental payloads while Aerospacelab develops the platforms. Thales Alenia Space has said the IRIS² payloads will enable the first secure space-based 5G network, combining in-orbit traffic routing, active interference management and end-to-end secure communications, and that a dedicated chipset for the software-defined antennas will further enhance system capacity, flexibility and mission agility.

MDA Space, founded in 1969 and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, describes itself as Canada’s largest space technology developer and manufacturer, with a workforce of more than 3,000 in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of €2.36 billion in 2025 and has more than 8,000 employees across 14 sites in seven countries.

The IRIS² agreement follows a $474 million follow-on order of MDA AURORA satellites for the Telesat Lightspeed low Earth orbit constellation that MDA Space announced on August 4, 2026. The company is scheduled to release its third quarter 2026 financial results before market open on November 5, 2026, according to its news release index.