July 25, 2019 | International, Aerospace

Florence Parly dévoile la stratégie spatiale française de défense

La France va investir 700 millions d'euros supplémentaires dans le spatial militaire d'ici à 2025, pour renforcer ses moyens de surveillance et se doter de capacités d'auto-défense dans l'espace. Une somme qui s'ajoute aux 3,6 milliards d'euros déjà prévus pour le spatial de défense dans la Loi de programmation militaire française 2019-2025.

« Aujourd'hui, nos alliés et nos adversaires militarisent l'espace. Et alors que le temps de la résilience se fait de plus en plus court, nous devons agir. Nous devons être prêts. »

Jeudi 25 juillet, Florence Parly, ministre des Armées, s'est rendue au Commandement de défense aérienne et des opérations aériennes (CDAOA), situé sur la Base aérienne 942 de Lyon Mont-Verdun afin de présenter les grandes orientations militaires françaises dans le domaine spatial.

Véritable enjeu, l'espace est devenu un lieu de confrontation de plus en plus militarisé. Indispensables au bon déroulement des opérations militaires, nos satellites et leur sauvegarde constituent un impératif stratégique.

C'est pourquoi Florence Parly a annoncé que la France allait investir 700 millions d'euros supplémentaires dans le spatial militaire d'ici à 2025, pour renforcer ses moyens de surveillance et se doter de capacités d'auto-défense dans l'espace. Une somme qui s'ajoute aux 3,6 milliards d'euros déjà prévus pour le spatial de défense dans la Loi de programmation militaire française (LPM) 2019-2025.

La stratégie spatiale dévoilée par la ministre des Armées se décline selon trois axes : organisationnel, juridique et capacitaire.

Montée en puissance progressive du commandement de l'espace

Ainsi, comme l'avait annoncé Emmanuel Macron le 13 juillet, un grand commandement de l'espace verra le jour le 1er septembre à Toulouse. Il sera placé sous l'autorité de l'armée de l'Air qui deviendra l'armée de l'Air et de l'espace. Son rôle : fédérer et coordonner tous les moyens consacrés au domaine spatial de défense. « A terme, il doit conduire l'ensemble de nos opérations spatiales, sous les ordres du chef d'état-major des armées et en lien avec le CPCO à l'instar de l'ensemble de nos opérations », a précisé Florence Parly. Doté d'une équipe de 220 personnes, ce commandement de l'espace montera progressivement en puissance sur la durée de la loi de programmation militaire, d'ici à 2025.

Pour mettre en place sa stratégie spatiale, la ministre souhaite une évolution des textes régissant l'utilisation de l'espace pour intégrer la spécificité des opérations spatiales militaires. « J'ai décidé que le ministère des Armées assumerait la fonction d'opérateur spatial »explique-t-elle. « Si nous souhaitons être en mesure de mener de véritables opérations spatiales militaires, il nous faut développer une autonomie d'action. »

Enfin, Florence Parly a annoncé vouloir perfectionner les capacités de défense spatiale, par le biais d'un nouveau programme d'armement nommé « Maîtrise de l'Espace ». Celui-ci intègrera deux volets : la surveillance et la défense active. Actuellement, la France est une des rares nations à disposer de ses propres capacités de surveillance de l'espace, gr'ce aux radars Graves et Satam ainsi qu'aux télescopes du CNRS et d'Ariane Group. « Demain, nous ferons appel à des moyens et des services plus sophistiqués encore », a souligné la ministre. « Le successeur de Graves devra être conçu pour déceler des satellites de la taille d'une boîte de chaussures à une distance de 1 500 kilomètres. » Afin de mieux protéger nos satellites, des actions seront menées, comme l'intégration de caméras de surveillance aux satellites de communication Syracuse pour leur autoprotection ou encore l'acquisition de nano-satellites patrouilleurs à partir de 2023.

Gr'ce à ces futures capacités de surveillance, une défense active pourra être mise en place. La ministre prévient qu'il ne s'agit que d'autodéfense et non d'une stratégie offensive : « Si nos satellites sont menacés, nous envisagerons d'éblouir ceux de nos adversaires. Nous nous réservons le moment et les moyens de la riposte : cela pourra impliquer l'emploi de lasers de puissance déployés depuis nos satellites ou depuis nos nano-satellites patrouilleurs », a-t-elle précisé.

https://www.defense.gouv.fr/actualites/articles/florence-parly-devoile-la-strategie-spatiale-francaise-de-defense

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November 30, 2018 | International, Aerospace

Japan sets naval-friendly requirement in search to replace AH-1S Cobra fleet
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May 4, 2018 | International, C4ISR

The Army Is Working on Brain Hacks to Help Soldiers Deal With Information Overload
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August 30, 2018 | International, Land

US Army to bring new vehicle protection technologies to fleet as early as 2020
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