Germany has its own satellites and has good coverage with Comsatcom. However, the EU Satcom Market adds a flexible option on top of this portfolio. It offers a ‘pay per use’ model, so Member States do not have to pay a regular fee and instead only pay for the services that they use. As Germany offers an Operational Headquarters to EU Operations, it could draw on this option to cover multinational requirements.
Giampaolo Lillo, EDA Director for Cooperation Planning and Support said: “It is a big step to see Germany join the EU Satcom Market. This is another sign that the pooling and sharing initiatives offered by EDA are of real value for participating Member States. The more countries we have on board, the better prices the EU Satcom Market will be able to offer.”
In the EU Satcom Market, EDA acts as the central purchasing body on behalf of the contributing Members. It purchases bandwidth from a commercial satcom provider (Airbus Defence & Space holds the current contract until 2015). Since May 2013, a total of 18 orders have been placed for a total value of around two million Euros.
EDA is working on enlarging the services offered through the project, as well as attracting additional Members to increase the pooling effect.
EDA is designed to support the Council and the Member States in their effort to improve the European Union’s defence capabilities for the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). This means running and supporting cooperative European defence projects; supporting research and technology development; boosting the European defence technological and industrial base; and providing a forum for European Ministries of Defence.
