The European Union has laid the groundwork for an ambitious 10 billion euro space program to create a cluster of satellites that will rival Elon Musk’s Starlink.

The aim is to ensure European governments and their armed forces have secure communications amid growing global concerns about cyber security.

Technological advances, EU says, mean that Iris2’s network of 290 high and lower-powered satellites will be equivalent to 1,000 Starlink satellites.

It will include two types of satellites operating in low orbit and medium altitude.

Currently Europe is served by a combination of state-licensed satellite networks for television, internet and defence, meteorology and border surveillance.

After Galileo and Copernicus, Iris2 is the EU’s third flagship satellite program designed to address long-term challenges which have increased after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and reports of cyberattacks on European countries.

The network is expected to be phased in by 2030.

Major European companies such as Airbus Defence and Space, Deutsche Telekom, France’s Thales Alenia Space and Italy’s Telespazio are participating in the project.