A high-ranking French military-space official has warned of increased "hostile or unfriendly" activity in space, particularly from Russia, emphasizing that modern conflicts on Earth are already being reflected in orbit. This is reported by Reuters, writes UNN.
Details
Major General Vincent Chausseau, General of the French Space Command, stated in his first interview with international media after his appointment that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, there has been a significant increase in hostile activity in space. According to him, adversaries, especially Russia, use various methods to influence satellites, including signal jamming, lasers, and cyberattacks.
The conflict in Ukraine shows that space is now a full-fledged operational domain
France previously publicly accused Moscow of attempting to spy on military satellites in 2018, but details of suspicious maneuvers have not been disclosed since then.
The Russian Ministry of Defense and Roscosmos have not yet commented on these statements. The Kremlin, in turn, insists that Western countries are waging a hybrid war against Russia and denies claims of using satellites to attack other orbital objects.
Chausseau also noted the rapid development of China's space programs, the second-largest state investor in space after the United States.
Every day (China – ed.) demonstrates dizzying progress – launching more and more satellites, developing methods of action that go beyond what we have seen before
Western countries are increasingly publicly warning about threats to satellites, on which not only defense but also the economy, banking, and energy depend.
Major General Paul Tedman, head of the UK Space Command, noted: "This economic and military dependence on space is increasingly under threat. The threat is growing in scale, complexity, and speed."
Brigadier General Christopher Horner of Canada reported that there are already over 200 anti-satellite weapons in orbit.
That's a shocking number. It threatens everything from satellite communications to Earth observation. In response, Western countries are expanding their own space capabilities. Germany plans to create a multi-orbital satellite constellation for defense, the first phase of which is planned for 2029
Pentagon begins deploying new satellite network for combat operations
Chausseau noted that one of the priorities is the ability not only to observe and analyze but also to act in space: "We aim to develop a wide range of actions in space… not only to see and understand, but also to act."
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