Airbus Defence and Space has secured a €345 million contract from Thales Alenia Space to develop the advanced C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments for the Sentinel-1 Next Generation (NG) satellites, part of Europe’s Copernicus Earth observation program. The deal was unveiled at the ILA Berlin Air Show.

The new radars will equip two Sentinel-1 NG satellites, slated to replace the current Sentinel-1A and -1B units, ensuring continuity and enhancement of the world’s most extensive radar-based environmental monitoring system. These instruments will deliver sharper spatial resolution, broader swath widths, and improved revisit times, strengthening capabilities in maritime surveillance, sea-ice tracking, land deformation mapping, and disaster response. By capturing finer detail across larger areas, the system will provide critical data for climate science, oceanography, and territorial management.

The contract builds on Airbus’s role as the radar supplier for the original Sentinel-1 mission, which has been operational since 2014. Under the new agreement, Airbus will leverage its experience to integrate next-generation active antenna technology and digital beamforming, enabling more flexible imaging modes and more reliable data streams for Copernicus users worldwide. Thales Alenia Space, as prime contractor for the Sentinel-1 NG mission, will oversee satellite design, integration, and testing. The partnership solidifies Europe’s leadership in space-based environmental monitoring and reinforces the continent’s industrial base for radar Earth observation.

Airbus a décroché un contrat de 345 millions d’euros avec Thales pour développer les radars des futurs satellites Sentinel-1 NG du programme Copernicus. Ces instruments offriront une observation de la Terre plus précise et plus étendue pour le suivi du climat, des océans et des territoires. Lors du Salon aéronautique de Berlin qui s’est tenu […]

Cet article Satellites : Airbus et Thales préparent la relève de Sentinel-1 a été publié par VIPress.net.