By Mauro Orru and Cristina Gallardo


Airbus secured a contract valued at 2.1 billion euros ($2.27 billion) to deliver a new military communications satellite system to the German armed forces, as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization members seek to modernize their infrastructure amid escalating geopolitical tensions.

The European group said Thursday that it would supply two new military geostationary telecommunications satellites, upgrade infrastructure to operate the new satellites and provide operational services for 15 years under the contract, which could be extended.

Airbus expects the spacecraft to be deployed by the end of the decade and stay operative way into the 2040s.

The contract is expected to benefit a number of German suppliers, including the Bremen-based aerospace engineering company OHB.

The announcement comes as Airbus continues to face challenges within its space business. Last week, the group said it would book a charge of roughly EUR900 million in its first-half balance sheet, citing new forecasts on workload, risks and costs for some telecommunications, navigation and observation programs.

Analysts said that the charge came as a surprise since Airbus had already taken a EUR600 million hit last year.


Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com, and Cristina Gallardo at cristina.gallardo@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-04-24 0900ET