Poland’s “Starlink” ambitions face a reality check

Poland is drawing up plans to develop its own satellite capabilities while also joining Europe’s IRIS² initiative. But the industry is asking whether the government’s ambitions will be matched by investment in domestic expertise and contracts for Polish companies.

IRIS² is intended to be Europe’s answer to its dependence on foreign satellite communications systems. In July 2026, Poland signed an agreement with the European Commission on its participation in the project. It will allocate PLN 2.8 billion, or EUR 656 million, from the National Recovery Plan (KPO) to finance more than a dozen satellites and build ground infrastructure. The Interior Ministry says on its website that “the satellites will provide us with strategic communications security in the event of conflicts and crises.”

At the same time, Poland wants to develop its own military satellite communications capabilities, thereby increasing its autonomy beyond the European system as well.

At this year’s International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO) in Kielce, Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) and Finnish-Polish technology company ICEYE declared their intention to cooperate on developing a military satellite communications system (MILSATCOM) for the Polish Armed Forces. For now, the two sides have signed a letter of intent.

“The culmination of the process that began today can and will be a ‘Polish Starlink’. This is not merely a matter of national satisfaction. […] Anyone who has followed the Russia-Ukraine war closely knows just how important communications are,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

The prime minister stressed that communications are fundamental to the modern battlefield. In his view, Poland could play a leading role in this field in Europe, strengthening its autonomy and technological sovereignty.

The term “Polish Starlink”, however, should be treated in this context as journalistic shorthand, given the scale of the financial, technological and human resources available. While there is little dispute over the need to systematically increase autonomy in communications, Poland’s space sector is asking what role it will actually play in implementing these plans – both European and domestic.

We are still at an early stage of developing the system concept and defining the project’s institutional framework.

Poland’s system is still at the concept stage

What do we know about the joint PGZ-ICEYE project?

“We are at an early stage of developing the system concept and defining the project’s institutional framework. As a first step, we are setting up a joint working group that will prepare the technical and financial concept and open a dialogue with the Ministry of National Defence. We will provide updates on the next steps,” Wojciech Maćkowski, marketing and communications manager for ICEYE in Poland and Central Europe, told XYZ.

The official announcement refers to designing and developing the capabilities needed to build and operate satellite communications systems. ICEYE is to be responsible for the system architecture – from the design and production of space platforms to satellite operations. PGZ, meanwhile, will identify companies within the group that can provide “production capabilities, expertise and technical infrastructure”, and determine which competencies should be developed in Poland for this purpose. The partners also say they are open to involving other companies from Poland’s space and defense sectors.

“We are designing the military satellite communications system as a distributed, fully encrypted network under Polish control. It will comprise multiple interconnected satellites, with each node increasing the resilience of the system as a whole,” Rafał Modrzewski, CEO and co-founder of ICEYE, said in the announcement.

The project is expected to run from 2026 to 2030 and conclude with the “achievement of full operational capability”.

A “Polish Starlink” is still a long way off

How feasible is it today to create a “Polish Starlink”?

“The term ‘Polish Starlink’ may raise a few smiles in the industry. Starlink is a global constellation that already consists of thousands of satellites and has been built over many years at a cost of tens of billions of dollars. It is an entirely different scale. What Poland does need, however, is sovereign military satellite communications capabilities,” says Paweł Pacek, an independent expert and observer of Poland’s space sector, previously associated, among others, with the Industrial Development Agency and venture-capital fund Balnord.

Perhaps a project of this kind should be carried out by a broader group of domestic space companies...

The expert notes that Poland currently relies to a large extent on services and terminals supplied by foreign providers.

“We do not yet have a sufficiently developed domestic technology chain to build a military SATCOM system independently. That does not mean we are starting from scratch. Poland already has expertise in satellite construction, the ground segment, military satellite terminals, antennas and RF electronics. The challenge is to integrate these elements into a complete, secure and resilient system,” Paweł Pacek says.

Foreign technology will still be needed through 2030

The industry will be watching closely as the planned satellite project takes shape.

“ICEYE has achieved considerable success in launching and producing SAR Earth-observation satellites. Can we already assume that it will be equally effective in designing and manufacturing telecommunications satellites? Perhaps a project of this kind should involve a broader group of domestic companies from the space sector,” says Maciej Myśliwiec, founder of Space Agency and director of the SGH Space Ecosystem Center.

“Designing our own system and bringing it to full operational capability by the end of 2030 will also require the use of foreign technologies and components. At the same time, the program could provide an excellent opportunity to build in Poland the capabilities we do not yet have today,” Paweł Pacek adds.

If we were to ask whether Poland can build an entire MILSATCOM system on its own today, my answer would be unequivocally: no.

Paweł Pacek points out that Polish industry is already developing, among other things, multi-orbit terminals, antenna solutions and technologies designed to work with next-generation constellations. One example is Thorium Space, which this year tested its Hydra terminal, enabling two-way transmission and electronic satellite tracking. The market is therefore developing capabilities that could be used in building future satellite communications systems.

It is important, however, that as large a share as possible of the critical technologies be developed domestically and remain under Polish control. This includes ownership of the technology, access to documentation, and the ability to integrate, modify, service and further develop the system.

“Of course, if we were to ask whether Poland can build an entire MILSATCOM system on its own today, my answer would be unequivocally: no,” Paweł Pacek stresses.

Will Polish companies benefit from IRIS²?

In his view, building a sovereign system for the military does not conflict with Poland’s participation in the European IRIS² program.

“The problem is that Poland decided to commit very substantial funding to IRIS²… before conducting an in-depth dialogue with domestic industry and identifying the capabilities Polish companies could contribute to the program. By the time those discussions gathered pace, the basic industrial structure of IRIS² had already taken shape, with the main supply chains being organized by the SpaceRISE consortium,” Paweł Pacek says.

This does not mean that Polish companies have been shut out of the program. However, gaining access to its supply chains has become more difficult.

“This is not only about satellite production. Polish companies have capabilities in user terminals, antennas, RF electronics, software and systems integration. They could successfully provide a range of components for the ground segment of the European satellite communications system. Whether Poland’s EUR 656 million commitment will translate into significant contracts for domestic industry remains to be seen,” Paweł Pacek adds.

The expert nevertheless considers Poland’s participation in IRIS² justified.

Industry fears action without a long-term plan

“Poland wants to build its own advanced satellites capable of providing reliable communications. At the same time, it does not yet have the full range of capabilities needed to deliver the IRIS² project. Financially, the main beneficiaries will not be Polish companies, but primarily, for example, French or German ones. We will rely on external solutions that are already significantly behind technologically when compared, for instance, with Starlink,” Maciej Myśliwiec adds.

The sector is periodically surprised by new ideas from the public administration that have not been consulted with experts – in other words, representatives of the space industry. And this has been happening for years.

In his view, Poland needs a detailed, multi-year plan for developing the space sector, prepared jointly with the industry.

“Instead, the sector is periodically surprised by new ideas from the public administration that have not been consulted with experts – that is, representatives of the space industry. And this has been happening for years,” Maciej Myśliwiec says.

He is concerned that the government’s strong focus on developing satellite capabilities – both Earth observation and telecommunications – could divert attention from space exploration and from companies specializing in that field.

Key Takeaways

1. The “Polish Starlink” is, for now, shorthand for a planned military satellite communications system that is still only at the concept stage. PGZ and ICEYE are to develop its technical and financial framework, with full operational capability planned by 2030. The scale of the project, however, will be nowhere near that of Starlink, a global constellation comprising thousands of satellites.
2. Poland has some of the capabilities needed to build a satellite communications system, but it is currently unable to develop an entire MILSATCOM system on its own. Domestic companies are working on satellites, the ground segment, terminals, antennas, RF electronics and solutions for next-generation constellations. Experts say, however, that bringing the system to full operational capability by 2030 will also require foreign technologies and components.
3. IRIS² and the development of Poland’s own military satellite system need not be mutually exclusive, but the extent to which Polish companies will participate in the European program remains uncertain. Poland will allocate PLN 2.8 billion to IRIS², but experts say the program’s core industrial structure had already taken shape before an in-depth dialogue with domestic industry was conducted. Polish companies have capabilities in areas including terminals, antennas, RF electronics, software and systems integration, but it remains to be seen whether these will translate into significant contracts.