UK Picks Between Airbus and Lockheed for £2bn Satellite Deal
What happened
Britain's Ministry of Defence is deciding between Airbus and Lockheed Martin for SkyNet 6's satellite-communications contract. The deal is now estimated at up to £2 billion for two geostationary satellites. Airbus is pitching British jobs and its existing SkyNet heritage. Lockheed Martin is offering new manufacturing jobs in northeast England and access to the US military's satellite network. Final offers were due by mid-November, with a decision expected within weeks. The competition has run for years and already missed one target decision date, in 2025.
Read-across for SES
SES is not a SkyNet 6 bidder. But this is Europe's clearest live test of whether a sovereignty argument can beat a US integration pitch in a major defence satellite buy. SES makes the same sovereignty case for IRIS² and its own government pipeline. A Lockheed Martin win would show European incumbency alone does not guarantee sovereign-satcom work. That would sharpen the case IRIS² and SpaceRISE still need to make on cost and schedule, not just nationality.
As the brief filed it
[AGE: 40h] Britain's Ministry of Defence is deciding between Airbus and Lockheed Martin for the SkyNet 6 satellite-communications contract. It is now reported at up to £2 billion for two geostationary satellites, with a decision due within weeks.