PARIS – By 2030, France plans to have an active capability to defend the space assets its armed forces rely upon, said Eva Portier, space deputy in the French armament agency DGA.
For now, France is focused on strengthening military-space capabilities including Earth observation, telecommunications, positioning and navigation, Portier said Sept. 17 at the Novaspace Defense Security Summit here.
In addition, France is “working on expanding our space situation awareness capabilities to be able to monitor and to classify the activities in orbit and to better understand the space environment,” Portier said.
Earlier in the day, a representative of the French Defense Innovation Agency and Portier discussed a new space surveillance program called Toutatis. Toutatis, which includes an inspector and a target satellite, shows the French military’s interest in innovation in the civilian and NewSpace sectors, Portier said.
Growing Tensions
France continues to respond to military space opportunities and threats. In 2019, France published a space-defense strategy and established French Space Command.
“We are increasingly reliant on space assets for our security and the function of economy and society,” Portier said. “And on the other hand, the tensions in space are growing.”
The DGA is closely tracking the growth of space startups around the world.
“The potential offered by NewSpace brings opportunities but also some new risk,” Portier said. “And it creates a growing need for surveillance and even coordination in space strategy.”
Working with allies and partners, the DGA seeks to develop “a shared understanding of standards or rules” for regulating space activities.
National Autonomy
France is committed to the principle of strategic autonomy in the space domain. That means ensuring “that France is able to access the space assets critical to our national security, without being hindered,” Portier said.
Still, autonomy does not preclude cooperation.
“We are supporters of working with many partners in Europe and all over the world to strengthen the cooperation that helps contribute to peace in space,” Portier said.
