The project for a Starlink made in Germany is causing some grumbling in Brussels.
Germany is working on creating a secure, military-grade satellite communication network in low Earth orbit (LEO) for the Bundeswehr, the German armed forces. Airbus Defence & Space and the duo formed by Rheinmetall and Ohb are reportedly considering submitting a joint bid for the German tender for the Bundeswehr’s €10 billion military communication system.
The initiative runs alongside the European Union’s Iris2 program, valued at €10.6 billion, which plans to deploy 290 satellites by 2029 to create a unified space communication system. With this project, the EU aims to position itself in managing satellite systems currently dominated by Starlink, Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellite internet service.
According to European parliamentarians cited by Reuters, this national initiative comes at a time when the EU is seeking to strengthen its strategic autonomy, also in light of the reduction of US support under Donald Trump’s presidency.
“If Germany now builds a purely national architecture not integrated into Iris2, it risks weakening European structures,” said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chair of the European Parliament’s Security and Defence Committee.
Meanwhile, other countries are also moving in this direction: Italy is considering its own low Earth orbit satellite network for civilian and military uses, although the project is still in preliminary stages.
All the details.
THE PUSH TO ACCELERATE WORK ON IRIS2
Iris2 is designed to provide an encrypted satellite communication backbone to European governments and public agencies. Earlier this year, the European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius, indicated 2029 as a possible date for the start of initial services, emphasizing the need to accelerate the program’s development. “I have asked all partners to intensify and accelerate work on IRIS2. I am confident that we can already implement initial services by 2029,” Kubilius said in a speech in Brussels. Industry analysts note that the timeline remains ambitious, considering full system operational capability is expected in the early years of the next decade.
MEANWHILE, GERMANY MOVES INDEPENDENTLY
Meanwhile, Berlin aims to develop the “SATCOMBw Stage 4” satellite constellation, explained in January by Handelsblatt. Unlike the Stage 3 system, SATCOMBw Stage 4 no longer relies on a few geostationary satellites in orbits about 36,000 kilometers high. Although geostationary satellites provide wide signal coverage, their high signal latencies limit them. SATCOMBw Stage 4, on the other hand, will be based on a network of numerous satellites in low Earth orbit, a few hundred kilometers high. At least one hundred satellites are intended to network tanks, ships, and soldiers by 2029. The
Analysts believe the German system will use technologies similar to SpaceX’s Starshield platform, the government version of Starlink, employed in battlefield communications in Ukraine. Both the German network and Iris2 would be comparable in size to Starshield, although the European project, which will also include commercial traffic, will remain much smaller than the approximately 10,000 satellites of the Starlink network.
BERLIN’S POSITION
A German government spokesperson told Reuters that Berlin is monitoring Iris2 and that the European project “has the potential, where appropriate, to integrate national initiatives in fulfilling sovereign tasks.” They also emphasized that the proposed system meets specific needs of the German armed forces, with “completely different” requirements compared to the European program.
RISK OF DUPLICATION AND WASTE OF RESOURCES?
Strack-Zimmermann told Reuters that parallel systems could lead to “duplicated structures, fragmented standards, and ultimately less strategic impact despite higher investments,” citing increasing security threats arising from the war in Ukraine.
“The decisive point is compatibility, connectivity, and European integration,” Strack-Zimmermann said, adding that national projects must remain aligned with EU regulatory frameworks.
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S POSITION
For its part, European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier reiterated that investment decisions remain the competence of member states, adding: “By investing in Iris2, member states can participate in a common European effort that benefits from shared resources and expertise. This helps develop advanced satellite communication technologies more efficiently and on a larger scale.”
CONCERNS (INCLUDING GERMAN ONES)
Economic concerns also emerge. “In the end, the taxpayer (German) will foot the bill,” said Jeanne Dillschneider, Green Party rapporteur on the Bundestag Defence Committee, Reuters reports.
Christophe Grudler, Renew Europe MEP, highlighted the risks of inefficiency: “Fragmentation rarely represents the most efficient use of public resources,” adding that “A smaller, isolated constellation would entail limitations in coverage and scalability.”
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party holds a different view. “Considering the capabilities of potential adversaries to disrupt or even destroy satellites, redundancy – in military terms, reserves – is not a waste of money but a requirement of responsible national security policy,” said Ruediger Lucassen.
INDUSTRY CLARIFICATIONS
In this context, Marco Fuchs, CEO of Ohb, the German satellite manufacturer competing to develop the low Earth orbit satellite constellation for the Bundeswehr, hits the core of the debate by stating that Iris2 is based on public-private partnerships and therefore lacks the specificity needed for a military-oriented network.
“If there is an actual military need, you cannot simply say: ‘I will rent it from private companies and wait to see how the situation evolves,’” Fuchs said after Ohb’s 2025 financial results were published last week.
RISK OF FRAGMENTATION
While Iris2 represents an attempt to build a shared and globally competitive capability, specific operational needs – especially military – push some member states, like Germany, to pursue autonomous solutions. The risk, as highlighted by several observers, is growing fragmentation that could weaken the overall effectiveness of European investments.
