Luxembourg-based SES is pursuing a takeover of Intelsat that would unite the world’s two largest satellite fleets under European control while maintaining partnerships with Chinese military-linked companies, raising national security concerns for U.S. regulators.
As tensions escalate with China and the European Union over trade, defense, and technology, a European government-backed satellite giant — SES — is seeking to create a monopoly by acquiring Intelsat, the historic company with operations Headquartered in Virginia that revolutionized global satellite communications. At the same time, SES is aligning itself with China through a partnership that could potentially expose sensitive U.S. communications infrastructure to foreign surveillance. As U.S. regulators decide whether to approve the takeover, they will scrutinize these concerns over competition, national security, and the integrity of America’s space and communications network.
While few Americans have heard of SES, it’s geostationary satellite fleet is second in size only to Intelsat and the two companies dominate satellite service to U.S. commercial, military, and governmental users. The company views itself as part of an EU attempt to defeat America in a new space race. In 2021, it warned that the “E.U. is at strong risk of falling behind” the U.S. “in the global space race.” The next year, SES argued that “the new space race is on” and noted that the company was part of the “important pan-European space effort.”
Purchasing Intelsat fits with the goal to undermine American satellite dominance. President John F. Kennedy initiated Intelsat’s creation through his speech to the United Nations on September 25, 1961, and signed the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 establishing the legal framework for the global satellite organization. The company revolutionized international communications by launching geostationary satellites that enabled live global broadcasts, including coverage of the Moon landing.
Intelsat was privatized in 2001 and now commands the largest fleet of geostationary satellites in the world. And so, the EU’s strategy is clear: Unite the two largest geostationary satellite fleets in the world under a European umbrella. That would give SES unrivalled control of a critical piece of our nation’s space architecture. That’s because geostationary satellites play a critical role for our nation’s military, with the two firms commanding an inordinate amount of government contracts. And the two also control over 90 percent of the U.S. video distribution market.
SES is based in Luxembourg whose government is its largest shareholder. Luxembourg has been at the forefront of attacking the Trump Administration. After Trump first announced his tariff policy, Luxembourg hosted the first EU-wide meeting to plan a response. Luxembourg’s finance minister Giles Roth has promoted a “unified” EU approach against the U.S. As the Trump Administration is ending DEI and ESG, Europe fighting to keep these destructive practices, which SES embraces.
While the Luxembourg government profits from U.S. Defense spending (as a significant owner of SES and member of NATO), it is not meeting its own defense obligations. Last March, President Trump called out the European government for not meeting its commitments to spend 2 percent of its GDP on defense. Despite being the wealthiest country in Europe per capita, Luxembourg spent only 0.62 percent of GDP on defense – the lowest of any NATO country.
Regulators will likely be concerned about Luxembourg’s close ties to China. According to IFLR, Luxembourg “has emerged as a key entry point to the EU for Chinese financial institutions.” The two countries have long been close, with multiple international agreements, special trade relations, and even visa exemptions to encourage collaboration.
So, it’s no surprise that SES — no doubt at Luxembourg’s urging — has been forging closer relations with the Chinese military industrial complex. Just days after it announced its purchase of Intelsat, SES launched an “Open Orbits” strategic partnership with Chinese-owned AeroSat Link, a subsidiary of China Satcom. According to SES, the Open Orbits partnership supports “an open architecture network where traffic can be intelligently steered from one interoperable Ka-band network to another.” The Ka-band is an important satellite band used by SES, Intelsat, and Elon Musk’s Starlink.
SES made clear that Americans’ data would be sent through Chinese satellites, issuing a press release in which China Satcom’s VP Yufei Shen who said, “China Satcom is extremely pleased to partner with SES to help bring a whole new level of inflight connectivity by leveraging our Ka-band network.”
SatCom is directly tied to the CCP military apparatus—serving as a subsidiary of the state-owned entity China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. And President Trump put China SatCom on his Chinese Military-Industry Complex Companies List in 2020, identifying them as a security threat and prohibiting Americans from owning shares or investing in them.
These China ties raise questions about SES’s sensitive work for the U.S. government, including its Secured Integrated Multi-Orbit Network, a platform designed to integrate commercial and military networks. The Trump administration will be asking questions such as: Is SES partnering with a national security threat as it seeks to integrate commercial and U.S. military networks? Will this integration mean that China SatCom or other foreign bad actors will have access to our military’s data? And would SES’s acquisition of Intelsat empower it to control how and where Americans’ data is directed?
Allowing an American rival with such close ties to the Chinese to purchase one of the most storied American satellite companies without significant national security and competition concessions would embolden America’s rivals in the EU and enemies in China. Such unabated consolidation could affect not only competition but also the security, resilience, and diversity of America’s space infrastructure — particularly in an era when spectrum is a vital strategic asset for communications and national security.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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