Paris: Airbus, the European aerospace and defense company, announced today that it has secured a contract with Eutelsat to build 340 additional satellites for its OneWeb network in low Earth orbit.

According to Qatar News Agency,this brings the total number of satellites ordered by Eutelsat to 440, following a previous order for 100 satellites last December. The new satellites will be built on a new production line in Toulouse, France, with deliveries scheduled to begin by the end of 2026.

In this context, Director of Space Systems at Airbus, Alain Faure said: "This order represents a further step towards strengthening European sovereignty in space." Airbus explained that the new satellites will incorporate technological upgrades, including advanced digital processors to improve performance and flexibility, with the capability to host additional payloads for new applications.

Eutelsat currently operates a constellation of more than 600 satellites distributed across 12 orbits at an altitude of approximately 1,200 kilometers, to provide high-speed communication services with low response times.