Dec 17 (Reuters) - French satellite company Eutelsat

has chosen aerospace giant Airbus to build 100

small satellites for its OneWeb low Earth orbit (LEO)

constellation extension, with deliveries to begin around the end

of 2026.

The satellites will be technologically compatible with a

planned 10.6 billion euro ($11.13 billion) secure European

satellite constellation in response to Elon Musk's Starlink.

Eutelsat did not disclose financial terms of the Airbus

deal.