A UK minister conveyed that joining the EU's IRIS² satellite initiative would be challenging due to the country's financial situation. The project, a multi-orbital constellation involving 290 satellites, has a total cost of €10.6 billion. After the UK left the EU in 2020, it missed early participation opportunities in the project. Although the UK rejoined the Horizon sci-tech funding program, prioritizing IRIS² is difficult amid budget constraints and economic pressures stemming from austerity measures and the Covid crisis. Future IRIS² funding will depend on the European Parliament.
The total cost of IRIS² is set to be €10.6 billion, with €6 billion from the EU, €550 million from the ESA, and more than €4 billion from the private sector.
Chris Bryant indicated that it will be quite a stretch for the UK to fulfill its existing commitments, let alone to add new financial commitments like joining the IRIS² initiative.
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