French President Emmanuel Macron revealed his country’s new space defense strategy on Wednesday, declaring that modern conflicts are already happening in orbit. He gave a stark warning that “the war of tomorrow will begin in space.” Macron was speaking in Toulouse, which is considered France’s space capital and is home to its national space agency, CNES, as well as the aerospace company Airbus. During his visit, he opened a new facility that will house 500 military officers who are dedicated to space operations.
Ahead of the president’s speech, the French presidential palace released a statement saying that “space is no longer a peaceful place.” The statement identified Russia as the main threat. According to the Élysée Palace, Moscow has placed nuclear weapons into orbit as part of a program known as Sputnik S. It also said that Russian satellites are increasingly performing aggressive maneuvers near French space assets in order to spy on them.
France to Deploy “Fighter Jets” in Orbit
As part of its new strategy, France is developing advanced patrol and surveillance satellites. These are scheduled to be operational by 2027 and will function like “small fighter jets” in space. The presidential palace confirmed that these satellites will be able to get close to unfriendly space assets to either jam their signals or spy on them. In addition to these new satellites, the country is also creating powerful lasers and electromagnetic jammers that can operate on different frequencies. These are being designed with the capability to destroy enemy observation satellites.
This announcement comes at a time when European countries are increasing their investments in space defense due to rising geopolitical tensions. In late September, Germany announced that it will invest €35 billion in space projects by the end of the decade. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said this would include new satellite constellations and “offensive capabilities.” He warned that satellite networks are the weak point of modern societies and that attacks on them could paralyze entire nations. He also noted that as he was speaking, Russian reconnaissance satellites were actively tracking two German satellites.
A European Space Shield Is Being Formed
The European Commission has put forward a new Defence Readiness plan. This plan calls for member states to invest up to €800 billion in their defense by the year 2030. A new European Space Shield has been named as one of four major projects that will receive priority funding. The goal of this shield is to ensure the protection and resilience of the space assets and services of all member states.
The Commission plans to release a detailed communication about the European Space Shield in 2026. It has also proposed a budget of €131 billion for defense and space for the period from 2028 to 2034.
Even as he emphasized France’s desire to maintain its own strategic independence in space, President Macron also called for more cooperation among European nations in this area. As a sign of this cooperation, France and Germany are planning to co-host a global summit on space in April 2026. This summit will bring together leaders from around the world to discuss the future of space security and collaboration. The new French strategy makes it clear that space is now seen as a critical domain for national and international security.
