French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he intends to create a new space command in the country's air force in September.

“We will know more about the situation in space, we will better protect our satellites, including actively,” said the French president. “And in order to bring this doctrine to life, in order to ensure the development and expansion of our space capabilities, a large space command will be created in September as part of the air force.”

Such a statement was made during the speech of the French leader on July 13 to the representatives of the armed forces at one of the events on the eve of the Bastille Day national holiday.

According to Western media, the new structure is likely to replace the Joint Space Command (CIE) existing in the French Armed Forces since 2010, which reports directly to the head of the General Staff. In this case, the press notes that the CIE had planned to transfer under the command of the air force.

As for the Air Force itself, then, according to Macron, they will be further transformed into aerospace forces.

Be in trend

According to the world media, in recent years, the French leadership has begun to pay more attention to the military aspect of space exploration. Back in September 2018, French Minister of Defense Florence Parley declared that the country was lagging behind in the field of space technology.

According to her, other space powers are engaged in the militarization of space, putting potentially dangerous objects into orbit, which leaves no doubt about their aggressive intentions. Particularly, Parley singled out Russia, accusing our country of trying to intercept data from a French-Italian satellite.

In November 2018, the head of the Joint Space Command of the French Armed Forces, Michel Fridling, in an interview with Le Figaro, said that space is becoming a "field of confrontation." In the same month in an interview with the magazine Challenges, he noted that the satellite constellation of the country is not sufficiently protected.

Among the threats that, according to him, can face the French military space program, the organization of sabotage on the ground, cyber attacks, installation of electronic interference, the seizure of satellites in space or their neutralization using a laser. In turn, the website of the BFM television company in June 2019 reported that France itself is developing an antisatellite laser.

According to the plan of military spending for 2019-2025, Paris should allocate € 3.6 billion ($ 4 billion) to defense projects in space, reports France24 TV channel. Among the objectives of the military space program are the launching into orbit of the constellation of the CSO reconnaissance satellites and Syracuse communications satellites, the launch of the CERES electromagnetic reconnaissance satellites and the modernization of the GRAVES radar observation station.

At the air show at Le Bourget in June 2019, according to France 24, Florence Parley announced the start of research on a new generation satellite program.

“Modern forms of warfare involve a shift of focus into the air and space, therefore France, creating its space command, acts in the trend of modern trends in military construction,” said Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, in a conversation with RT.

On the other hand, according to military expert Yuri Knutov, in the intention of Macron to "expand" space capabilities there is a place for the political ambitions of the head of the French state.

  • Macron speaks to the military on the occasion of the Bastille Day
  • Reuters
  • © Kamil Zihnioglu

“Macron claims to be the European leader. He set the task of making France the strongest state in Europe. And space command is one of the elements of this task, the desire to show that France is the most powerful European country, ”Knutov said in an interview with RT.

Forces and means

As the American defense portal Breaking Defense notes, France relies on the support of other EU and NATO countries in the realization of its space ambitions. Thus, the CSO satellite construction program provides for investments in Germany, Sweden and Belgium. The European company Airbus, the French firms Arianespace and Capgemini, as well as the German OHB work on the technical component of the program.

According to experts, France has solid grounds for the development of military space technologies: the oldest space program in the world after the Russian and American and the industrial potential of a developed European power.

  • Head of the National Space Research Center of France Yves-Jean Le Gal, French Defense Minister Florence Parley and French astronaut Tom Pesquet
  • © ESA / Manuel Pedoussaut

"Today, France from all European countries is the only country that is capable of launching space objects with its own carriers," Yury Knutov notes. This is a family of European launch vehicles Ariane, in the development of which the greatest role was played and played by France.

The Kourou Cosmodrome in French Guiana is located closer to the equator than any other space power, which makes it the optimal launching point for satellites in a geostationary orbit. This is another French advantage, experts say.

“As for the capabilities of France in the aerospace industry, they are quite impressive,” says Igor Korotchenko. - France has full space autonomy. Another thing is that it does not have its own program of space manned flights and there is no opportunity to create and deploy space impact systems. ”

The weak points of the French space program include the absence of a cosmodrome that would be used only for military purposes, Yury Knutov said. The Kuru is still a dual purpose facility. Also, many applications for the development of offensive weapons, including the space component, so far exist only on paper, he added.

“However, this does not mean that France intends to lag behind others. In the future, they will be engaged in the development of satellites that will hunt other satellites, and laser weapons that can be placed in space, electromagnetic weapons, ”Knutov said.

"In the wake of the United States"

France is not the first country to declare the increasing role of the space component in the composition of its armed forces.

Last year, US President Donald Trump announced the creation of the Space Forces in the country. In December 2018, Japan announced the creation of units for the protection of outer space in the structure of the Self-Defense Forces. In March 2019, India, in the framework of the Shakti project, shot down a satellite, stating that it was on par with such space powers as the United States, Russia and China.

On June 27, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the Alliance countries had agreed on a new policy regarding the use of outer space. According to the German TV channel Tagesschau, it will be aimed at protecting the satellite constellation of NATO countries.

Also, according to the information of German journalists, which is confirmed by sources from Reuters, in the North Atlantic Alliance they are thinking of declaring the cosmos as a "sphere of hostilities". This decision is expected to be taken at the NATO summit in London in December 2019.

  • NATO Headquarters in Brussels
  • Reuters
  • © Yves Herman

According to experts, France, as a member of NATO, will develop its military programs in space in coordination with other Alliance partners. According to them, the French military leadership, in particular Michel Fridling, had previously expressed a positive opinion about Trump’s plans to create the Space Forces.

“Our main policy is a peaceful space, and the Americans have a military one,” states Yury Knutov. “Unfortunately, France is keen to follow the United States and pursue a similar policy regarding space.”

Moscow traditionally opposes the militarization of outer space. However, in March 2019, the head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia Valery Gerasimov noted that the Russian Federation would be forced to respond to the aggressive actions of the United States in this space with “mirror and asymmetric measures”.

“We offer and will continue to propose a comprehensive convention on the non-deployment of weapons in space. But if to be realistic, one should understand that the USA will not sign such a convention, - Igor Korotchenko notes. - And for us, the issue of countering the capabilities of foreign countries to deploy combat systems in space is becoming topical. It is for this purpose that we are developing the S-500 anti-aircraft missile system, which will have the capability, including near-range interception, at altitudes up to 300 km from the Earth’s surface. ”