The ability to detect spy satellites and potentially destroy or cripple them is seen as a key capability.
Around 2,000 active satellites are currently estimated to be orbiting the Earth, mostly to relay commercial and military communications, but also to track the weather and for spying. Experts say that the United States, Russia, China and India are capable of destroying enemy satellites using missiles fired from Earth, and probably also by engineering deliberate collisions.
In September last year, Parly accused a Russian satellite called Luch Olymp of attempting to spy on France’s Athena-Fidus satellite, which is jointly operated with Italy, and is used to provide secure communications for the French military.On July 13, French President Emmanuel Macron announced his intention to create a French space force command, which will be formed on September 1 and be integrated into the air force, Parly said.
The new US force, which has yet to receive congressional approval, would create a new branch of the military on an equal footing with the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps and have some 20,000 personnel. The French military space programme had been given a budget of 3.6 billion euros for 2019-2025, but Parly announced another 700 million on Thursday.
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