📋 Tender Overview
On September 24, 2025, the Minister of Defense Yuriko Backs presented to the Defense Commission of the Chamber of Deputies the bill authorizing the Government to finance the acquisition, launch and exploitation of the Govsat-2 satellite, intended for government and military communications, as well as to acquire satellite capacities. The Govsat-2 project is a continuation of the Govsat-1 program, the first satellite intended for government and defense communications, launched in 2018 by LuxGovsat S.A., public-private partnership and co-entering equal parity between the Luxembourg government and its astra S.A. The future Govsat-2 satellite will join the Govsat-1 in Orbite geostationary, covering the same areas of interest - Europe, Africa, and Middle East - while offering increased capacities, accessible to Luxembourg, to its partners and allies. Govsat-2 is fully part of the governments ambition to invest in strategic defense projects with significant economic benefits. It will strengthen Luxembourgs visibility and credibility in the defense and security space sector. said Yuriko Backs. The financing of the program provides for a capital increase of 101 million euros in Luxgovsat by the Luxembourg defense, with an equivalent contribution of SES. The Defense Directorate will remain Anchor Customer of LGS, with a firm socket of satellite communication capacities up to 180 million euros in the 12 years which will follow the date of operation of Govsat-2. Up to 20 million euros over two years are provided by the bill to maintain Govsat-1 capacities, pending the commissioning of the new satellite. Added to this is a budget envelope of 200 million euros to facilitate the conclusion of international cooperation and to guarantee the flexibility of execution as well as the resilience of the project in the face of geopolitical and technological developments often unpredictable. The spatial field is essential in the NATO collective deterrent and collective defense system and constitutes a strategic issue and a priority within the European Union. In a rapid geopolitical context, the ability to have secure and reliable communications is crucial. In addition, the needs for satellite communications of the armed forces will experience significant growth in the coming years, both in quantity and in quality of service. The launch of a second communication satellite is thus essential and also necessary in terms of resilience. The Govsat-2 project will take into account current needs, the evolution of technologies and especially the spatial context increasingly marked by an increase in threats. Thus, satellite will be protected to ensure the availability of services in hostile environment and it will integrate advanced technologies, including capabilities on SHF band (super high frequency), notably covering the military frequency bands X and MIL-KA, supplemented by a UHF (ultra high frequency) tactical capacity. While satellites play a crucial role in military communications, navigation, command of operations or even the transmission of strategic data, they have become priority targets in any strategy of destabilization or asymmetrical confrontation. Govsat-2 is a strategic response to these developments: it will be a sovereign, protected, more efficient capacity, incorporating hardening, encryption, flexible bandwidth and advanced anti-crossing systems.
