SEALSQ Corp, a company that focuses on developing and selling Semiconductors, PKI, and Post-Quantum technology hardware and software products, together with its parent company WISeKey International Holding Ltd (“WISeKey”), a leading Swiss cybersecurity, AI, and IoT company, and WISeSat.Space which focuses on space technology for secure satellite communication, today provided an update on the evolution of its collaboration with the Swiss Armed Forces (SAF). This partnership, initiated in 2022, continues to advance Switzerland’s sovereign space and cybersecurity infrastructure by combining secure IoT satellites with trusted digital identity and post-quantum cryptographic technologies.
Recent coverage by WIRED revealed a stark vulnerability in the global satellite communications ecosystem: with just a few hundred dollars’ worth of off-the-shelf equipment, researchers intercepted unencrypted calls, texts, and sensitive military and corporate data being broadcast via geostationary satellites. (wired.com) The article underscores how many satellite “backhaul” links, especially those serving remote or critical infrastructure, remain unprotected, exposing vital information to trivial interception.
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In direct response to such threats, WISeSat.Space’s work with the SAF supports the development of secure, sovereign satellite-based communications, reconnaissance, and navigation systems for military organizations. These initiatives aim to reduce reliance on foreign providers and intergovernmental projects, thereby enhancing national resilience, operational autonomy, and cybersecurity.
Since the signing of the initial agreement, WISeSat.Space and the SAF have jointly conducted research, development, and mission testing on small-satellite and secure communications capabilities, including Low Earth Orbit IoT (LEO-IoT) and Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) applications. The collaboration has now evolved to integrate SEALSQ’s post-quantum semiconductors and WISeKey’s Swiss Root of Trust, ensuring quantum-resilient encryption and authentication for satellite-to-ground and inter-satellite communications. These quantum-secured WISeSat satellites directly address the vulnerabilities exposed in the WIRED report, creating a zero-trust orbital network that guarantees encryption from end to end.
This operational partnership also supports the SAF’s goal of ensuring secure satellite-enabled mobile communications, which has been already made public in August 2023 with the new strategy for the reinforcement of defense capabilities. Additionally, on October 8, 2025, the overall conception for the build-up of SAF’s space-based capabilities has been published by the Department of Defense after its handling by the Government.
Ludovic Monnerat, designated commander of the new Space Command of the Swiss Armed Forces, commented: “To close their capability gaps in space, the SAF are pursuing a strategy focused on partnerships aiming to work with national industrial companies and universities to build operational capabilities with dual use characteristics and thus strengthen our defense capabilities. The Swiss Armed Forces need a regular to permanent coverage with narrowband to broadband connections for networking people and objects, with a security allowing its use in every situation. Our operational partnership with WISeKey during the last 3 years has been playing a key role in preparing the integration of post-quantum encryption to Direct-to-Device (D2D) connectivity in the near future, while giving our partners a technical and tactical support allowing the development of solutions tailored for military needs worldwide. This security level could also apply to other space-based capabilities, especially the steering of space systems. This collaboration with WISeKey give us the perspective to reach the necessary level of security and sovereignty, which then must be implemented via our procurement process after the necessary decisions at the Government and Parliament level.”
Carlos Moreira, Founder and CEO of SEALSQ, added: “Our partnership with the Swiss Armed Forces has evolved from a visionary initiative into a solid, long-term collaboration anchoring Switzerland’s leadership in secure space technologies. By merging cybersecurity, cryptography, and satellite innovation, we are helping ensure Switzerland’s digital and spatial independence.”
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