Eutelsat has signed an eight-year contract with the French government for OneWeb capacity, in a deal worth up to €350 million.
The contract is a call-off capacity agreement under the NEXUS framework and is meant to keep access open to Eutelsat’s OneWeb satellite fleet while bridging toward the planned IRIS2 secure satellite fleet.
Contract terms and scope
The CENTAURE contract includes an initial firm commitment of €138 million over four years. That first phase covers low Earth orbit capacity across multiple areas of strategic interest to the French Armed Forces and is also aimed at improving the security of Eutelsat’s OneWeb services.
Eutelsat also describes the agreement as an immediately operational solution for Defence sector requirements ahead of IRIS2 deployment.
Fallacher ties the deal to NEXUS
Jean-François Fallacher, CEO of Eutelsat, said the CENTAURE contract marks a major milestone in implementing the NEXUS framework agreement. He added that it reflects the continued trust of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces in the OneWeb constellation.
Fallacher said secure, resilient, low-latency connectivity has become a decisive driver of military operational effectiveness in a profoundly transformed strategic environment.
What this means for satellite capacity buyers
The structure matters because the agreement is not just a one-off capacity booking. It combines an immediate service commitment with a longer bridge to IRIS2, which is the kind of procurement pattern government buyers and satellite capacity vendors will watch closely.
The €138 million firm tranche also gives the market a clearer floor on the contract’s commercial weight, rather than leaving the full €350 million figure as a ceiling.