SES teams with Luxembourg on new defence satellite

SES and the Luxembourg Government are collaborating on the development of a second satellite for GovSat (LuxGovSat S.A.), a public-private partnership and 50/50 joint venture that offers secure, reliable, and accessible satellite communication services for governments. Positioned over the European satellite arc, GovSat-2 will complement GovSat-1 in enhancing connectivity services for government customers in the region. Thales Alenia Space will construct the satellite using its Spacebus 4000B2 platform.

GovSat introduced its initial defence satellite, GovSat-1, in 2018. Operated by GovSat from a secure mission operations center in Luxembourg, the satellite has supported various governmental users, including the Luxembourg Directorate of Defence, EU and NATO nations, the U.S. Department of Defence, and more. It has facilitated connectivity for operations, interconnection of sites, border control, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and diverse communication needs for air, land, and maritime missions.

The advanced GovSat-2 satellite will expand the coverage and capabilities of GovSat, catering to the requirements of defence users at the highest Security and Service Assurance Level. It will introduce new ultra-high frequency (UHF) channels, X- and military Ka-band, and additional security features like dedicated hardening, an advanced anti-jamming system, and embedded geolocation.

SES and the Luxembourg Government will co-fund the satellite, pending approval of the corresponding draft law by Parliament. "The procurement of GovSat-2 highlights the success of the GovSat public-private partnership in providing secure military satellite communications to Luxembourg, our allies, and partners, supporting a wide range of critical military, defence, and civilian security applications," stated Yuriko Backes, Minister of Defence of Luxembourg. "With GovSat-2, Luxembourg will once again showcase its significant impact in the field of Space."

"Given geopolitical changes and the rising need for scalable national security and defence capabilities, there is a growing demand for secure, reliable geostationary (GEO) connectivity with comprehensive coverage across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the Mediterranean, and the Baltic Seas," noted Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES. "As European governments seek to enhance their sovereign satellite communications for defence and intelligence purposes, GovSat-2 provides GovSat with additional MILSATCOM capacity to address this strategic growth area."

"GovSat-2 reflects the increasing demand in military satcom, enabling our GovSat public-private venture to expand and enhance the services we have been delivering since 2018. With this new satellite, we are introducing more frequency bands and innovative functionalities to effectively tackle the future connectivity challenges faced by NATO and partner nations," remarked Patrick Biewer, CEO of GovSat.