Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has announced the signing of a framework agreement with operator Hellas Sat, the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), and Safran to develop a next-generation optical communications system for the geostationary Hellas Sat 5 satellite.
As part of this partnership, Thales Alenia Space will provide the SOLiS system (Secured Optical Space Link Service) along with the onboard optical payload. This project is part of the France 2030 program and aims to demonstrate ultra-high-speed laser links between space and ground.
The solution is designed to enable secure transmissions with performance close to 1 terabit per second, while enhancing the resilience of infrastructures against the vulnerabilities of terrestrial and submarine networks. Safran will supply the pilot ground station to be installed in Cyprus.
This agreement, signed in Nicosia during the "Battlefield Redefined 2026" conference, illustrates Thales Alenia Space's position at the forefront of breakthrough satellite telecommunications technologies and the European challenges of digital sovereignty.
Thales is one of the European leaders in manufacturing and marketing of electronic equipment and systems for the aerospace, defense and security sectors. Net sales break down by product group as follows:
- defense and security systems (55.3%): C4I defense and security systems (control and monitoring systems, communication, protection, cyber-security, and other systems), defense mission systems, naval systems, electronic war systems, drones, air operation systems (air defense, air surveillance), ground defense systems and missiles;
- aerospace systems (26.7%): avionics equipment (cockpit, cabin multimedia, and simulation equipment), space systems (satellites, payloads, etc.);
- digital identification and security solutions (17.4%);
- other (0.6%).
Besides, the group owns a 35% stake in Naval Group (manufacture of naval equipment for defense and nuclear energy sectors).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: France (27.7%), the United Kingdom (6.5%), Europe (28.1%), North America (12.4%), Asia (9.9%), Australia and New Zealand (4.1%) and other (11.3%).
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