WARSAW, Poland — The Spanish government announced it will allocate between 1.6 billion and 2 billion euros ($1.8 to $2.3 billion) to develop a national military satellite communications constellation that could be integrated into the planned IRIS² multi-orbit satellite internet constellation.

The project was presented during the July 29 meeting of Spain’s National Committee for Technological Security and Sovereignty, a government body, during which the Ministry of Defense discussed the addition of 15 new special modernization programs (SMPs) planned for 2026 and the National LEO Capability program planned for 2027.

The funding for the “Multi-Orbit SATCOM SMP” will be allocated to “the development of the space segment, the ground-based control and management segment, and the operation of the system throughout its life cycle,” the ministry said in a document.

Spanish officials did immediately release the number of satellites in the constellation.

European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius praised Madrid’s commitment, saying it comes amid member states’ rising interest in joining the European Union’s initiative.

The IRIS² constellation is designed to secure governmental satellite communications for the EU while facilitating the bloc’s efforts to ensure high-speed internet broadband and address connectivity dead zones. The project is widely considered the EU’s answer to SpaceX’s Starlink.

Sánchez first unveiled the country’s plans to kick off a program to co-finance IRIS² in May. Speaking at the 2026 Space Congress in Madrid, Sánchez said that Spain can become “a European benchmark in the space sector” and its space industry “continues to grow.”

The initiative represents “a great opportunity for the development and consolidation of the national industrial value chain, both in satellite manufacturing and in its ground segment,” the prime minister said. “It is about Europe making real progress towards true space sovereignty, consistent with its ambition to be sovereign in the strategic domains of the future”.

Sánchez also said the Spanish space sector’s revenues reached the level of around 1.5 billion euros in 2025, and the industry has created close to 8,000 highly skilled jobs.

Spain’s announcement comes days after another member state, Poland, declared it would commit around 2.8 billion Polish Zloty ($749 million) to participate in the IRIS² project. Like Spain, Warsaw will finance the construction of six MEO satellites and six LEO satellites, as well as a gateway ground station, the Polish government said in a statement.

Marcin Kierwiński, Poland’s Minister of the Interior and Administration, said that the nation’s participation in IRIS² could also facilitate numerous business opportunities for more than 400 companies active in the Polish space sector.

The 10.6 billion euro project is expected to reach full operational capacity by 2030, when it will ensure its complete set of services, according to Brussels. Under the plan, it will consist of some 292 satellites operating in different orbits. Of these, 18 are to be positioned in MEO, 264 in higher low Earth orbit, and 10 in lower low Earth orbit, according to figures from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space.