The agreement was signed in the presence of Márton Nagy, Hungary’s minister for national economy.

Under the Hussar program, Hungary plans to deploy a geostationary communications satellite (Hugeo) and eight low Earth orbit (LEO) Earth observation satellites (Huleo) by 2030. Northrop Grumman will manufacture the geostationary satellite using its GEOStar-3 platform, while 4iG S&D will produce the eight Earth observation satellites at its technology center in Hungary, scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2026.

The agreement covers the full lifecycle of the Hugeo satellite, including design, manufacturing, assembly, integration, testing and delivery, as well as transportation to a U.S. launch site, launch integration, early operations support and in-orbit testing. The satellite is expected to be delivered in 2030 and will provide Hungary with critical dual-use communications capabilities.

The broader Husat supply chain has also been established, with Germany’s Vertex providing the ground antenna system, South Korea’s TelePIX supplying imaging systems, and Italy’s MetaSensing delivering synthetic aperture radar technology.

In addition to the satellite agreement, 4iG S&D and Northrop Grumman expanded their strategic cooperation to include defense technologies such as counter-unmanned aerial systems, advanced weapons and precision guidance systems through joint development, manufacturing and system integration programs.

“Today, we signed a landmark agreement with Northrop Grumman to secure Hungary’s access to critical dual-use satellite communications capabilities, a key enabling technology in today’s geopolitical environment. Our agreements with L3Harris Technologies and Apex Technology, together with our existing partnerships and investments with Lockheed Martin and Axiom Space, demonstrate our ability to collaborate with leading global technology partners while integrating Hungarian industrial and engineering capabilities to deliver new, export-ready and NATO-compatible solutions in Hungary and across the region,” said István Sárhegyi, chairman and CEO of 4iG S&D.

“We believe transatlantic cooperation will be a key driver of space and defence innovation in the coming decade, in which 4iG S&D aims to play a pioneering role among other Hungarian and regional companies,” he added.

Separately, 4iG S&D and Apex Technology agreed on framework conditions to establish a joint venture focused on scalable production of small satellites. The initiative aims to apply standardized, mass-production approaches from the automotive industry to satellite manufacturing, creating a scalable production capacity in Europe to meet growing global demand.

The company also signed a preliminary agreement with L3Harris Technologies to integrate Lockheed Martin’s Himars rocket system onto Tatra 6×6 military trucks manufactured by Rába as part of the Humars program. The project could be implemented under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales framework, following a letter of request submitted by the Hungarian Defense Forces.

In addition, L3Harris is set to become a strategic partner in regional defense digitalization projects, providing NATO-compatible tactical communications, networking systems, and solutions for encrypted communications, simulation and training.

4iG S&D’s expanding partnerships with major U.S. defense and space companies, including Axiom Space, Lockheed Martin, L3Harris Technologies, Northrop Grumman and Apex Technology, highlight its strategy to strengthen Hungary’s role in transatlantic cooperation while advancing domestic capabilities in space and defense technologies.