European Protected Waveform Consortium Achieves Major Milestone with Successful Over-the-Air Testing

Demonstration underscores Europe's commitment to secure, resilient, multi-orbit military satellite communications

SINT-NIKLAAS, Belgium, Dec. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ST Engineering iDirect's EU Satcom Centre of Excellence, ST Engineering iDirect Europe, based in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, today announced that the European Protected Waveform (EPW) consortium has successfully completed over-the-air testing, marking a critical milestone in Europe's pursuit of strategic autonomy in secure military communications. Conducted on November 26-27, 2025 at Universität der Bundeswehr München, Germany, the demonstrations validated EPW's ability to safeguard military satellite communications against jamming, cyber threats, and unauthorised access across both GEO and LEO satellite configurations.

Belgian National Armaments Director, Major General Filip Borremans, highlighted the importance of this milestone, "The successful EPW demonstrations perfectly illustrate the mission of the European Defence Fund, enabling Member States to achieve collectively what none could accomplish alone. By uniting 19 partners from 13 nations, the consortium has demonstrated that European collaboration delivers both technical excellence and strategic autonomy. Secure satellite communications are a cornerstone of modern defence, and EPW proves that through coordinated European investment, we can develop sovereign solutions that strengthen our collective security."

This milestone underscores the critical need for standards-based, interoperable, secure communications in modern military operations. As cyber threats from state and non-state actors intensify and missions span increasingly dispersed theaters, robust and resilient infrastructure has become indispensable. Designed with security, agility, efficiency, and interoperability at its core, the EPW empowers European military forces to maintain secure communications—whether operating independently or in coalition—adapting seamlessly to diverse operational demands and geographic challenges.

Co-funded by the European Union through the European Defence Fund, the programme unites industry and academia from across Europe under the leadership of Belgium's Ministry of Defence, with ST Engineering iDirect Europe as the consortium lead. This collaborative effort is tackling both current and emerging challenges in military satellite communications, including evolving security threats, growing demands for higher throughput, and the need for enhanced mobility solutions.

"The EPW consortium's successful completion of this major milestone, demonstrated live and witnessed by supporting military end-users, represents a critical step toward the next phase of the EPW programme," said Koen Willems, Vice President, EU Programmes, at ST Engineering iDirect Europe. "This achievement paves the way for the prototyping and testing of the final capability, which will deliver secure and resilient communications for Europe. It underscores the consortium's unwavering commitment to advancing Europe's strategic autonomy in military communications through innovation and collaboration."

The European Protected Waveform is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of ST Engineering iDirect Europe only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

About the European Protected Waveform (EPW) Program
The European Protected Waveform is a European Defence Fund program co-funded by the European Union, with a total estimated cost of €29.9 million and a maximum EU contribution of €25 million. Over its 39-month duration, the program aims to develop secure waveform standards for future-proof satellite communications, addressing challenges such as joint and dispersed operations, mobility requirements, and the integration of both GEO and NGSO satellites.

About the European Defence Fund
The European Defence Fund (EDF) supports collaborative defense research and development projects across EU Member States, strengthening Europe's technological and industrial defense capabilities while promoting cooperation and interoperability.

About ST Engineering iDirect Europe

ST Engineering iDirect Europe, located in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, is ST Engineering iDirect's EU Satcom Center of Excellence specialising in the development of ground segment technology and solutions specifically for the EU. As a legal Belgian entity, ST Engineering iDirect Europe has its own board of directors to comply to the guidelines and conditions as put forward by the EU Commission and the Belgian Government. With over 35 years of experience, the ST Engineering iDirect portfolio of high-value product lines and services in addition to a dedicated team of domain specialists, and a ISO9001 certified manufacturing center the team has a portfolio of capabilities to cater to the specific needs of European funded satcoms programs. 

For more information visit https://www.idirect.net/st-engineering-idirect-europe/

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