France plans low-orbit demonstrator that can target other satellites

PARIS — France plans to launch a maneuverable satellite into low Earth orbit in the next two years that can target other satellites, something French Space Command said is necessary to show the country can take action to protect its space assets .

French nanosatellite builder U-Space will supply the demonstrator in partnership with missile maker MBDA, French Space Command boss Maj. Gen. Philippe Adam and company executives said at an industry conference in Paris on Tuesday. They didn’t detail the satellite’s offensive capabilities, though a presentation video showed the satellite targeting another orbiter with a green laser beam.

France wants to avoid putting kinetic weapons in space that would risk creating debris in orbit, and the demonstrator won’t be weaponized, though it may include a “dazzling” capacity, Adam said on the sidelines of conference. Low Earth orbit, or LEO, is the busiest orbital range, with more than 5,000 satellites launched and thousands more planned, according to U.S. Space Operations Command.

“We need to better understand what’s happening in space, and make sure that we can oppose any misconduct in space actively, if necessary,” Adam said at the Space Defense & Security Summit in the French capital. “We need also to take into account what’s happening in lower altitudes. It’s probably about time, if we consider all that’s happening in this lower orbit.”

France expects to launch the demonstrator satellite, called Splinter, in the next 12 to 24 months, Adam said. The overall project, dubbed Toutatis, will also include a low Earth orbit observation satellite called Lisa-1, and the goal is to test operational scenarios.

Several speakers at the conference highlighted the growing threat in space from adversaries including Russia. The general public should realize that access to space is not a given, and an arms race in space would be destabilizing and should be seen as a threat, according to Marjolijn van Deelen, the special envoy for space at the European External Action Service.

“We’re dealing with adversaries whose level of restraint is going down and down,” said Lt. Gen. Bertrand Le Meur, France’s director for defense strategy, foresight and counter-proliferation. The French plan “for us a big step, showing that we are anticipating some potential threats in low Earth orbit,” he said.

Destructive space arms are not a French priority, and neutralizing an opponent in space could mean moving a satellite between an adversary and a friendly asset to prevent hostile action, according to Adam. Dissuasion also requires being able to see what adversaries are doing and make them aware they are being seen, in addition to having the means to intimidate and discourage, the general said.

Nevertheless, “for deterrence to be effective, we also need real means of action, and those means of action have to be known and recognized as effective,” Adam said. He said adversaries already have the means to destroy French satellites.

France still hasn’t launched its experimental patroller nanosatellite Yoda, which is ready and waiting to be lifted into geostationary orbit, according to Adam, who declined to say when that might happen. Originally planned for 2023, Yoda has been delayed due to a lack of available launch slots.

The country is the world’s fourth-biggest spender on space defense and security, behind the U.S., China and Russia, according to space-industry consultant Novaspace, which organized the summit. French military space spending was around $1.3 billion in 2023, dwarfed by the U.S. with $38.9 billion and China with $8.8 billion, and about half the Russian budget, according to Novaspace.

Pan-European missile maker MBDA has been experimenting with laser weapons, and has participated in France’s AsterX military space exercise in the past two years. The Toutatis project will move space defense beyond simulation, said Nicolas Lefort, MBDA’s head of new markets and business development.

“Space defense starts on the ground, and the good news is that we at MBDA already cover that mission very well,” Lefort said. “Our ambition is to bring defense to low Earth orbit, where the threats have now become real. We really look forward to demonstrating that the Space Command can deal with suspicious activities in LEO in the most reactive way.”

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——法国计划在未来两年内发射一颗可机动卫星进入近地轨道，该卫星可以瞄准其他卫星。法国航天司令部表示，此举对于表明法国有能力采取行动保护其太空资产是必要的。

法国纳米卫星制造商U-Space将与导弹制造商MBDA合作，提供这颗演示卫星。法国航天司令部司令菲利普·亚当少将和多家公司的高管周二在巴黎举行的一次行业会议上宣布了这一消息。他们没有详细说明该卫星的攻击能力，但一段演示视频显示，该卫星用绿色激光束瞄准了另一颗轨道飞行器。

法国希望避免在太空部署动能武器，以免在轨道上造成碎片，因此演示样机不会被武器化，尽管它可能具备“令人惊叹”的能力，亚当在会议间隙表示。据美国太空作战司令部称，近地轨道（LEO）是轨道最繁忙的区域，已发射超过5000颗卫星，另有数千颗卫星正在计划中。

“我们需要更好地了解太空正在发生的事情，并确保在必要时能够积极应对任何太空不当行为，”亚当在法国首都巴黎举行的太空防御与安全峰会上表示。“我们还需要考虑低轨道上发生的事情。如果我们考虑到低轨道上发生的一切，现在或许是时候采取行动了。”

亚当表示，法国预计将在未来12至24个月内发射名为“Splinter”的演示卫星。整个项目名为“Toutatis”，还将包括一颗名为“Lisa-1”的低地球轨道观测卫星，其目标是测试各种运行场景。

多位与会者在会上强调了来自包括俄罗斯在内的敌对势力在太空领域日益增长的威胁。欧洲对外行动署太空事务特使玛乔琳·范·迪伦表示，公众应该意识到进入太空并非理所当然，太空军备竞赛会破坏稳定，应被视为一种威胁。

法国国防战略、前瞻和防扩散事务主任贝特朗·勒默尔中将表示：“我们面对的对手的克制程度正在不断降低。” 他说，法国的这项计划“对我们来说是一大步，表明我们正在预见近地轨道上的一些潜在威胁。”

据亚当称，法国并未将破坏性太空武器列为优先事项，在太空中压制对手可能意味着在敌方和友方资产之间移动卫星，以阻止敌对行动。这位将军还表示，威慑还需要能够掌握对手的行动并让他们意识到自己正被监视，此外还需要具备恐吓和阻止对手的手段。

然而，亚当表示，“要使威慑有效，我们还需要切实可行的行动手段，而且这些行动手段必须为人所知，并被公认为有效。” 他说，对手已经拥有摧毁法国卫星的手段。

据亚当透露，法国尚未发射其实验性巡逻纳米卫星“尤达”（Yoda）。该卫星已准备就绪，随时可以进入地球同步轨道，但他拒绝透露具体的发射时间。“尤达”原计划于2023年发射，但由于缺乏可用的发射时段而被推迟。

据组织此次峰会的航天工业咨询公司Novaspace称，法国是全球第四大太空防御和安全支出国，仅次于美国、中国和俄罗斯。Novaspace的数据还显示，2023年法国的军事太空支出约为13亿美元，远低于美国的389亿美元和中国的88亿美元，约为俄罗斯预算的一半。

泛欧导弹制造商MBDA一直在进行激光武器试验，并在过去两年参与了法国的AsterX太空军事演习。MBDA新市场和业务发展负责人尼古拉斯·勒福尔表示，Toutatis项目将使太空防御超越模拟范畴。

“太空防御始于地面，好消息是MBDA在这方面已经做得非常出色，”勒福特说。“我们的目标是将防御扩展到近地轨道，因为那里的威胁如今已成为现实。我们非常期待向世人展示，太空司令部能够以最快的反应速度应对近地轨道上的可疑活动。”

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。