Spain’s Ministry of Defence plans a national satellite communications constellation under the European Union’s IRIS² program, with investment estimated at 1.6 billion to 2.0 billion euros, according to a ministry report presented at a government committee meeting on July 29.
The report, prepared for a meeting of the National Committee for Technological Security and Sovereignty, describes the project as the Multi-Orbit SATCOM special modernization program, based on a national constellation within IRIS², the secure satellite communications program run by the European Commission. The estimated investment covers the space segment, the ground control and management segment, and operation of the system throughout its life cycle. SpaceNews, which first reported the plan, put the same range at the equivalent of 1.8 billion to 2.3 billion U.S. dollars.
The constellation is one of 15 new special modernization programs the ministry plans to start in 2026. The 15 programs span communications, cybersecurity, intelligence, and electronic warfare, and include cryptographic and cybersecurity systems, intelligence gathering and analysis tools, and advanced planning and simulation systems, the ministry said. Together with a National LEO Capability program planned for 2027, which the ministry also describes as Spain’s contribution to the European secure satellite communications program, the additions would bring the number of modernization programs under way to 95, a level the ministry called the largest modernization effort its armed forces have ever undertaken. The ministry describes the wider industrial and technology plan behind the programs as a state strategy that integrates military capability, technological development, and industrial strength.
IRIS² is a roughly 10.6 billion euro European program intended to reach full operational capacity by 2030, according to figures SpaceNews cites from the European Commission. Spain’s plan follows a comparable national commitment by Poland, which is financing six medium Earth orbit and six low Earth orbit satellites and a gateway ground station for its own IRIS²-related capability, with more than 400 Polish companies potentially benefiting, according to SpaceNews. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez first outlined plans for a Spanish role in secure satellite communications at the Space Congress in Madrid in May, SpaceNews reported. Spain’s space sector generated about 1.5 billion euros in revenue in 2025 and employs nearly 8,000 people, according to figures cited by SpaceNews.
The new programs build on a broader defense spending push. Spain reached NATO’s 2 percent of gross domestic product investment target in 2025 and maintained the level in 2026, and the ministry says Spain ranks seventh among NATO members by total defense spending and third by growth in investment over 2024 and 2025. The 35 special modernization programs launched under the 2025 industrial and technology plan carry a joint spending ceiling of 34 billion euros through 2042, and the ministry said an additional 2,318.8 million euros would be pre-financed in 2026 on top of 4,500 million euros in 2025.
The ministry did not disclose how many satellites the Spanish constellation would include or a schedule for fielding it. The report describes the investment as an estimate within a range, not an approved budget.
Sources
1. SpaceNews, “Spain commits up to $2.3 billion for national military communications for IRIS²”: https://spacenews.com/spain-commits-up-to-2-3-billion-for-national-military-communications-for-iris²
2. Ministerio de Defensa (Spain), “Informe Ministerio de Defensa en reunión del Comité de Seguridad y Soberanía Tecnológica”: https://www.defensa.gob.es/Galerias/actualidad/entrevistas/prensa/INFORME_COMITx_DE_SEGURIDAD_Y_SOBERANxA_TECNOLxGICA.pdf