SPACE AUTONOMY MONITOREuropean strategic autonomy in space—

Capability C03

Secure governmental communications

Satellite communications for EU and Member State governmental and security users.

⚑ Draft assessment — requires reviewConfidence: Medium

Recommended approach

Build

Last reviewed 9 Nov 2026

Rationale (analytical judgement)

Strategically critical with no credible alternative within 24 months: build (IRIS²).

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Three main questions

How critical?
High — Governmental communications must remain available and under European control in a crisis.
Pressure risk
High — could an external provider use the dependency as political or economic pressure?
Alternative in 24 months?
No

Current position

European capability
IRIS² is in development under an EU concession signed in December 2024; ESA describes deployment beginning no earlier than 2029 (see KPI 07).
External dependencies
Until IRIS² is deployed, governmental users rely on existing national and commercial systems; the degree of non-European reliance is not yet sourced.
Main external actors
Non-European commercial operators (extent not yet sourced)

Additional factors

Factors without a recorded assessment are shown as not yet assessed.

Cost of developing European capacity
Large public investment already committed; amount to be sourced.
Time to operational readiness
IRIS² deployment is not scheduled before 2029.
Availability of trusted partners
Not yet assessed
Market concentration
Not yet assessed
Technological maturity
Not yet assessed
Impact on innovation and competitiveness
Not yet assessed
Security and resilience
Core sovereignty requirement.

Recommendation history

Manual adjustments with their documented explanation.

No adjustments yet

The draft recommendation has not been changed.

Relevant KPIs

Related risks