In mid-December last year, Airbus and OneWeb signed an partnership agreement on the provision of satellite communications services at a low near-earth orbit in the interests of the military in Europe, SPACE24 writes. In the future, this will make it possible to monitor the movements of Russian military and techniques, helping drum drums.
It is expected that the Space devices of high-speed Internet access on the ONEWEB, deposited into the orbit of Russian average missiles “Soyuz-2”, will be used, in particular, to ensure the transfer of real-time video streams from sensors installed, for example, on unmanned aerial devices. “
“Being a military satellite service provider, Airbus is now going to use the ONEWEB satellite grouping capabilities to provide new and expanded telecommunications services to the British and individual European Armed Forces and Services,” the report says.
It is noted that the use of OneWeb and ground stations together with existing spacecraft will allow military users to switch between satellite communications on low near-earth and geostationary orbits using the benefits of a flexible and functional network.
Space24 reminds that the British OneWeb satellites are produced at the AIRBUS factory in the USA.
In December 2021, Defense News reported that the US Defense Ministry wanted to directly connect commercial satellites that provide images of the Earth’s surface to their future orbital networks, which will allow soldiers in the field to get access to the relevant data.
In October 2018, the representative of the FSB Vladimir Sadovnikov told about the need to limit access to the project of high-speed satellite Internet of OneWeb for security reasons.
In June 2015, Arianespace and OneWeb announced the conclusion of a contract for the launch of ONEWEB mobile satellite spacecraft, for which Arianespace will buy the Soyuz-2 carrier rocket from Russia. In the “Roskosmos” then stated that the contracting was provided “for several years ahead of the full load of a number of domestic enterprises of the Rocket and Space Industry”, in particular, the Rocket and Space Center “Progress”, which produces the Soyuz-2 missile.
From February 2019 to December 2021, during 12 launches, the Russian Rockets “Soyuz-2” brought into an near-earth orbit of 394 ONEWEB spacecraft. In 2022, seven launches of this media with British satellites are planned.