France warns of rising Russian space attacks as satellites face new threats
A French general says Moscow has diversified methods to disrupt satellites, with incidents increasing since the 2022 invasion
France's armed forces chief has warned that Russia is stepping up attacks in space, with Western satellites targeted by lasers and Russian spacecraft approaching other satellites. In an interview with Reuters, Major General Vincent Chusseau said there has been a marked uptick in space incidents since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with Moscow diversifying methods to disrupt satellites, including jamming, laser activity and cyber operations.
He noted that space is now an operational domain for military planning and said the trend reflects a shift in how nations view space, not merely as a surveillance domain but as a potential theater for action. France has previously accused Russia of space espionage, including the 2017 approach of the Louch-Olymp satellite toward a Franco-Italian asset. In 2018, France cited comments by the former defence minister about how such close proximity could be perceived as an espionage act.
The Kremlin has denied that Russia launches weapons into orbit, though several independent reports have documented space activity associated with Moscow. The discussion in Paris comes as Western space chiefs warn of increased hostile activity, including the launch of Cosmos 2553 in February 2022 and reports that Cosmos 2588 appeared to track another U.S. satellite, underscoring the persistence of near-contact incidents. International observers and defense officials say such behavior is no longer exceptional but increasingly common.
The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have joined France in warning about growing space threats. UK Space Command chief Major General Paul Tedman said the world’s reliance on space in commerce and security means space assets are at growing risk. Germany and China are expanding their space programs, with Germany aiming to complete the first stage of a multi-orbit satellite constellation by 2029. Canadian space officials say there are already more than 200 anti-satellite weapons in orbit, underscoring the scale of the challenge.
France says its priority is to strengthen the resilience of its existing space assets and to develop the capacity to operate across a wide spectrum of effects in space, not only to observe and understand but to be able to act if necessary. The trend, observers note, has intensified calls within allied nations to bolster space defense, risk assessment and crisis response in a domain once considered remote from terrestrial warfare.