Redwire Corporation (NYSE: RDW) received a contract from the European Space Agency to develop a quantum-secure satellite under the QKDSat program, according to a company statement. The project falls within ESA's Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems Partnership Projects program.

The company will manufacture and deliver its Hammerhead spacecraft equipped with quantum key distribution payload and Redwire's ADPMS-3 avionics suite. Redwire operates as part of a multi-country consortium led by Honeywell Aerospace's UK team.

The consortium includes Redwire Space of Belgium, Craft Prospect and British Telecom from the United Kingdom, QTLabs of Austria, Honeywell's Canadian team, and participants from Czechia and Switzerland. The project aims to provide quantum key distribution via satellite to protect against communication data breaches.

"Quantum secure communications are critical to the future of European autonomy," said Marc Dielissen, Executive Vice President of Redwire Europe. "Satellite quantum key distribution enables truly global, long-distance secure communication, overcoming the range limitations of terrestrial fiber-based quantum networks."

Laurent Jaffart, Director of Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity at ESA, stated the project will support secure communications across member states amid increasing cyber threats.

Redwire's Belgian facility has delivered spacecraft for ESA programs including Proba-1, Proba-2, Proba-V, Proba-3, and the Atmospheric Limb Tracker for Investigation of the Upcoming Stratosphere missions over more than 50 years of operations.

The information is based on a company press release statement.