Thales recorded approximately €500 million in IRIS² orders during the third quarter of 2026, according to its October 22 financial release. The company’s space business secured seven orders worth more than €100 million each during the first nine months of the year. The disclosure provides a financial record of work entering the company’s order book as Europe develops its secure satellite communications network.
The release identifies an agreement with Eutelsat covering government communications payloads for 330 low Earth orbit satellites. It also lists a contract with Hisdesat for UHF and military Ka-band payloads for SpainSat NG III. These payloads are the equipment that performs the communications mission, rather than the complete spacecraft.
Orders and Revenue
Thales reported €5.011 billion in aerospace orders for January through September, representing 29% organic growth. Aerospace sales reached €4.237 billion, up 4% organically. Those figures cover both aviation electronics and space activities, so they cannot be treated as satellite-business totals.
Orders and sales describe different stages of a manufacturer’s business. An order records contracted work; sales reflect revenue recognized as that work is performed under the applicable accounting rules. An increase in orders can precede the manufacturing and delivery activity that produces revenue.
Chief Financial Officer Jeremie Papin told analysts that Thales expected approximately €2 billion of additional IRIS² orders over the next few quarters, Reuters reported. That expectation describes prospective business. It is separate from the approximately €500 million already included in the quarterly order intake.
The Constellation Behind the Contracts
The European Commission and the SpaceRISE consortium signed an implementation agreement on August 7, 2026. ESA says the agreement added 66 low Earth orbit satellites and increased the main IRIS² constellation to 348 spacecraft. The 330 satellites covered by the government-payload agreement are consequently not the total size of the main constellation.
ESA’s responsibilities include overseeing development, qualification, and validation in orbit. Qualification establishes that hardware meets the conditions and requirements of its intended mission. In-orbit validation checks its performance after launch. These activities connect the procurement of communications equipment to the eventual delivery of services.
Government satellite communications can support users whose operations require controlled access and reliable connections beyond terrestrial networks. New Space Economy’s coverage of military satellite services explains the distinction between communications capacity and protected services for specific operational requirements.
The October disclosure establishes that part of the IRIS² manufacturing work has reached the booked-order stage. The next financial development identified by Thales is the anticipated additional contracting described by its chief financial officer, with revenue recognition following execution of the work.
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