Airbus Defence and Space and Thales Alenia Space will build SpainSat NG III under a new contract from Hisdesat, expanding Spain’s secure military satellite communications capabilities.
The satellite is scheduled for launch in the third quarter of 2030 and is expected to enter operational service in early 2031.
SpainSat NG III will provide secure communications in the X, military Ka, and UHF bands, while adding greater capacity, operational flexibility, and protection against jamming and other electronic warfare threats.
Airbus Defence and Space will serve as the satellite’s prime contractor, building on its work on the existing SpainSat NG satellites. Thales Alenia Space will act as co-contractor, with more than 10 Spanish companies contributing technologies to the project.
Under the industrial arrangement, Airbus will develop the X-band communications payload, while Thales will build the military Ka-band and UHF payloads.
Spain Boosts Military Satellite Comms
The latest satellite will complete the SpainSat NG architecture, which is described as the largest space program ever developed by the Spanish industry.
Once combined with SpainSat NG I, the third satellite will provide coverage from the US and South America across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, extending as far as Singapore.
Earlier, in October 2025, Spain completed its next-generation military satellite constellation with the launch of SpainSat NG-II aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The launch followed the successful deployment of SpainSat NG-I in January 2025, completing what Spain has described as its most advanced defense communications satellite program to date.
