(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.