Prime Highlights-
- MENA space budgets rise 69 percent over the past decade, reaching $2.5 billion by 2025.
- UAE’s Space42 forms Equatys with Viasat in a venture backed by up to $1 billion.
Key Facts-
- Regional space spending projected to hit $3.2 billion by 2034.
- Marlan Space leads a $1 billion Altair-Next Gen satellite project in France.
Background-
Middle East and North Africa space budgets have climbed 69 percent over the past decade, rising from $1.4 billion in 2015 to $2.5 billion in 2025, according to a KPMG report, with spending projected to reach $3.2 billion by 2034.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman anchor the region’s space push, and sovereign wealth funds including the UAE’s Mubadala and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund have made the sector a strategic investment priority.
Analysts say recent regional conflicts have highlighted the resilience satellites offer compared with ground-based infrastructure, pushing Gulf states to treat space as a national security asset alongside a commercial one.
Abu Dhabi-based operator Space42 has driven much of the UAE’s expansion, recently forming Equatys, a shared satellite platform with U.S. firm Viasat, backed by up to $1 billion in combined equity to connect smartphones directly to satellites.
Space42 has also expanded its Foresight constellation with new radar-imaging satellites developed alongside Finland’s ICEYE, feeding into its GIQ geospatial intelligence platform.
Separately, Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding Company has grown its space footprint by acquiring a majority stake in Marlan Holding, parent of Marlan Space, which is now leading a $1 billion consortium in France to build the Altair-Next Gen satellite infrastructure project alongside Loft Orbital.