Europe must develop its own space capabilities to be ready to defend itself.
This was stated by European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius at the “Space for European Resilience” conference in Brussels, according to the European Commission website.
“The defence of space – and using space for defence is only becoming more urgent, because we are already under attack - also in Space,” Kubilius reminded.
He noted that space is now one of the key items on the European agenda and central to the Defence Readiness Roadmap presented two weeks ago.
“We need to be ready before 2030. Because Putin will be ready to test NATO Article 5. And without space, there will be no defence readiness. And now we are not ready,” the Commissioner admitted.
Kubilius emphasized the crucial role of space capabilities on the battlefield.
“In Ukraine, satellites guide Russian bombs and rockets to cause destruction. Satellites help Ukraine to communicate, to operate drones. To defend their freedom. And space is becoming the next battlefield. Russia is developing powerful laser weapons that can permanently blind satellites. German satellites are being shadowed by Russian spy satellites, that could damage or destroy them,” he said.
The European official explained that under the new EU Defence Readiness Roadmap, threats to European satellites must be addressed by improving space situational awareness and developing on-orbit services for satellite repair, refueling, and recovery, as well as in-space assembly.
The roadmap proposes “not only defending space, but using space for defence” by building a European Space Defence Shield, to be launched next summer.
Kubilius noted that modern warfare requires secure intelligence and surveillance, safe positioning and navigation, and reliable communication.
“We're at the start of a space revolution. The future belongs to space. Who controls space, controls the future.,” he stressed.
By the end of this year, the EU GOVSATCOM secure satellite communication program will begin operations, allowing member states to share secure, military-grade communication capabilities by pooling existing national assets.
At the same time, the IRIS² satellite system will provide secure satellite connectivity for Europe worldwide, and its deployment is being accelerated.
