Airbus is readying to build and launch six new second generation Galileo satellites in 2024 in a “key milestone” for Europe’s satellite network.
It comes as aerospace manufacturer completes the preliminary design review for the satellites’ navigation systems.
Airbus, which pulled out of Russia last week amid its invasion of Ukraine, has plans to create an industrialised production line for the satellites, at its site in on Lake Constance, in Germany.
“The world of navigation is changing, driven by rapidly emerging and changing user needs,” Airbus said in statement today, adding that the growing number of security threats such as jamming and spoofing has called for a second generation of its Galileo satellite.
“The new batch of Galileo spacecraft built by Airbus is the answer to this changing context. It will make the Galileo service more accurate, secure and dependable, and adaptable over its lifetime spanning two decades,” it said.
Managed and funded by the European Union, the Galileo satellite operations will fall under the European Space Agency’s wing.
The latest satellite update follows a year of record net income, which Airbus revealed last month.
Revenue lifted to €52.1bn (£43.1) in 2021, while Airbus’s adjusted earnings before interest and tax skyrocketed 185 per cent to €4.9bn (£4bn).
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