Airbus secures agreement with Hisdesat for constructing PAZ-2 satellites, strengthening Spain's autonomous space capacity.
The Spanish Ministry of Defence has awarded Airbus Defence and Space a contract for the development and manufacture of two new PAZ-2 radar satellites. This move reaffirms Airbus' commitment to strengthening technological sovereignty in security and defense, as well as its leadership in the national and European space sector.
The PAZ-2 satellites are expected to enter service by mid-2031 and will continue to be among the most advanced in the world. They will build on the proven capabilities of the first PAZ satellite, known for its synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology that provides high-resolution images useful for precise mapping and surveillance.
The new satellites will capture radar imagery 24 hours a day and in all weather conditions, extending Airbus’s existing radar satellite constellation. Key features and benefits of this constellation include:
- All-weather, day-and-night observation capability: Radar satellites can penetrate clouds, smoke, and darkness, enabling reliable Earth observation regardless of lighting or weather conditions.
- Versatile data coverage: The radar constellation complements Airbus’s multi-sensor approach integrating optical and radar satellites, offering comprehensive Earth observation data at various resolutions and revisit times.
- High reactivity and timely acquisition: The system supports intensive monitoring and rapid response through fast revisit times and priority tasking services, ensuring that imagery and radar data are delivered when urgently needed.
- Support for diverse applications: From cartography, environmental monitoring, change detection, to intelligence, the radar data serve a wide range of use cases, especially where optical data may be limited due to weather or lighting.
- Enhanced constellation reliability and flexibility: Adding PAZ-2 strengthens the existing radar constellation operated by Airbus, improving coverage and data availability for customers worldwide.
The PAZ-2 satellites will strengthen the intelligence and surveillance capabilities of the Spanish Armed Forces, while also supporting civilian applications such as infrastructure monitoring, risk management, border control, and disaster assessment. The contract also aims to strengthen Europe's resilience.
Airbus will lead a consortium of more than 15 Spanish companies for the PAZ-2 project. The company will assemble and test the first PAZ-2 satellite at its site in Getafe, Spain. The Spanish Ministry of Defence is leading the PAZ-2 programme, with around 65% of the satellites' content to be developed by Spanish industry, led by Airbus.
Alain Fauré, Head of Airbus Space Systems, stated, "The PAZ-2 satellites reaffirm Airbus' commitment to strengthening technological sovereignty in security and defense, as well as its leadership in the national and European space sector."
In addition, Hisdesat and Airbus will continue leading high-end, high-value X-band radar services through this contract. The PAZ-2 satellites will increase coverage up to 6.7 million km2 per day and satellite, providing significant improvements in data collection and analysis capabilities.
With the launch of the PAZ-2 satellites, Airbus Defence and Space will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in Earth observation, delivering reliable, high-quality radar data for all-weather, day-and-night operational scenarios.
The PAZ-2 satellites, with their advanced synthetic aperture radar technology, will further Airbus' leadership in the space-and-astronomy sector and continue to produce high-resolution images useful for scientific and defense purposes. The new constellation, including PAZ-2, will also harness technology to capture radar imagery around the clock and in all weather conditions, thereby extending Airbus' capability in space-and-astronomy and science.
