Eutelsat has secured an order under an agreement with the French Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans, signing a capacity contract through the French Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) as part of the Centaure contract. The same announcement also covers an agreement for low-Earth orbit (LEO) services in Angola with Mercury.
The Centaure contract is described as the first call-off contract under the 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion) NEXUS framework agreement, which was signed a year earlier. The Centaure deal totals approximately 350 million euros ($406 million) and runs for up to eight years.
Centaure terms: 350m euros value and an initial 138m euros commitment
Eutelsat said the Centaure contract includes an initial firm commitment of 138 million euros ($160 million) over four years for LEO satellite capacity across multiple areas of strategic interest. The contract also includes an initial stage aimed at enhancing the security of Eutelsat’s OneWeb services.
French defense read: continuity during IRIS² ramp-up
Eutelsat said the Centaure setup gives the French Armed Forces operational continuity and flexibility during the ramp-up of the European IRIS² program. In its statement, the company also framed the award as demonstrating how trusted European commercial space infrastructure can complement sovereign defense assets and accelerate the deployment of next-generation capabilities.
Speaking on the deal, Eutelsat CEO Jean-François Fallacher said the Centaure contract signature marks a major milestone in implementing the NEXUS framework agreement. He added that secure, resilient, low-latency connectivity has become a decisive driver of military operational effectiveness, and that Eutelsat is delivering a concrete response because the infrastructure is immediately available and field-proven.
Angola LEO: Mercury partnership positioned for multi-year expansion
In a second major deal announced within 24 hours, Eutelsat said it was teaming up with Mercury to provide LEO connectivity services in Angola. Mercury is described as a subsidiary of Sonangol Group and a provider of telecommunications services in Angola.
Eutelsat characterized the Mercury and Eutelsat agreement as multi-year and multi-million, and said it expands on previous work between the two companies. For its Angola footprint, the company said it is the only licensed LEO operator in the country at the time of the announcement and already has a significant operational presence via its local partners, with MSTelcom continuing to expand the reach of Eutelsat’s LEO services for enterprise, public sector, offshore, and telecom customers across Angola.