GMV awarded EU contract to lead GOVSATCOM hub as secure communications system becomes operational

By Martin Chomsky (Defence Industry Europe)

The European Union has activated GOVSATCOM, its Governmental Satellite Communications Programme, marking what it describes as a decisive step towards strategic autonomy in space and reduced reliance on foreign suppliers for critical communications. The system enables EU Member States to access secure, encrypted communication services under European control, supported by a multi-year €107 million contract signed in 2024 awarding Madrid-based GMV leadership of the GOVSATCOM Hub within the EU Space Programme.
Image: EUSPA.

The European Union has activated GOVSATCOM, its Governmental Satellite Communications Programme, marking what it describes as a decisive step towards strategic autonomy in space and reduced reliance on foreign suppliers for critical communications. The system enables EU Member States to access secure, encrypted communication services under European control, supported by a multi-year €107 million contract signed in 2024 awarding Madrid-based GMV leadership of the GOVSATCOM Hub within the EU Space Programme.

 

At the centre of the architecture is the GOVSATCOM Hub, designed, developed and deployed by a European industry consortium led by GMV under a contract from the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, which grants the company the highest level of visibility and responsibility within the programme. The Hub aggregates and manages space and terrestrial resources to provide resilient and coordinated satellite services, integrating eight satellites operated by five Member States and supporting uses ranging from crisis management and border and maritime surveillance to critical infrastructure protection and operations in remote and polar regions.

 

 

GMV heads the consortium alongside Indra and Hisdesat, drawing on combined expertise in space systems, cybersecurity, communications, command and control, and secure governmental satellite operations. The Hub is also designed to integrate future services from IRIS², the European Union’s planned multi-orbital secure communications constellation, reinforcing GOVSATCOM’s role as one of the five components of the EU Space Programme, alongside Galileo, Copernicus, EGNOS and Space Situational Awareness, and as a pillar of the bloc’s preparedness and resilience objectives towards 2030.

 

 

In the words of Jesús Serrano, CEO of GMV, “the start of the GOVSATCOM operations confirms Europe’s ability to deploy sovereign critical space infrastructure within very demanding timeframes, for the benefit of all EU Member States. This milestone reflects the high level of commitment shown by GMV, its entire team, and all members of the consortium, making it possible to bring into service, in a short period of time, a complex, secure, and resilient system. Our experience in complex and secure space systems is being put at the service of a programme that strengthens Europe’s strategic autonomy and lays the foundations for its future evolution, including the integration of capabilities such as those of IRIS².”

 

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