New Delhi/ Cannes. Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has signed a new contract worth €51 million with the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) to extend the operational life of the European Satellite-Based Augmentation System (EGNOS). Named LIFEX 1 (Life Extension Phase 1), this contract will ensure that EGNOS V2 continues to provide reliable, secure, and high-performance navigation services for Europe’s aviation, maritime, land transport, mapping and agricultural sectors beyond 2028.
EGNOS system enhances the accuracy, reliability and integrity of positioning signals by improving the performance of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as GPS and, in the future, Galileo. As part of this contract, Thales Alenia Space will address EGNOS V2 critical system upgrades and infrastructure improvements, reinforcing the system’s resilience and operational durability. These updates will focus on enhancing security measures, modernising components, and ensuring the ongoing reliability of EGNOS’s “Safety of Life” service, which plays a key role in aviation, enabling accurate approaches at European airports without requiring ground guidance systems. Operational since 2011, this service has significantly improved operational safety and efficiency for the greater benefit of European operators.
