Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has been awarded by the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) a contract for the development of the IRIS ultra-high-resolution military optical observation space system, under joint prime contractorship with Airbus Defence and Space. The IRIS1 system will comprise of two satellites and their associated ground segment.IRIS: renewing the CSO system’s capabilities and addressing an evolving strategic environmentThe program is a key asset of France’s defense policy, ensuring independent assessment capabilities, operational cooperation, and sovereign decision-making through intelligence gathered from space.Delivering Europe’s highest operational performanceThales Alenia Space will also develop strategic systems ensuring the security, confidentiality and rapid dissemination of the collected intelligence, while guaranteeing high-quality production of the acquired imagery.Unique advanced technologies in Europe“We are particularly proud to contribute to the IRIS defense program, which will enable France to strengthen its position among the world leaders in optical space observation,”Thales Alenia Space leverages the excellence of France’s optical space industry
The expertise of the industrial consortium, combined with the world-class capabilities of our partners, including LYNRED, PYXALIS, SODERN, REOSC, ALAT and Thales SESO, will enable reaching the highest level of performance in Europe for these optical Earth observation satellites.