January 25, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Le Figaro analyse les enjeux de défense liés à la maîtrise de l'espace, à l'heure où près de 90 États disposent d'au moins un satellite en orbite. Selon le CNES, 2 200 satellites en fonctionnement sont aujourd'hui en orbite autour de la Terre. L'augmentation est exponentielle: en dix ans, le nombre de satellites opérationnels a plus que doublé, notamment sous l'impulsion des acteurs privés du «New Space», tels que SpaceX. La France a établi une doctrine militaire et un commandement de l'espace en 2020, avec deux objectifs : des capacités de connaissance et, à moyen terme, de défense active. « La clé, c'est détecter, identifier, agir », explique le général Lavigne, chef d'état-major de l'armée de l'Air et de l'Espace. Des capacités de suivi sont développées : pour la France, l'approche du satellite franco-italien de télécommunication militaire Athena-Fidus en 2017 a ainsi été détectée par le système GeoTracker, développé par ArianeGroup, équipé de huit télescopes au sol. L'armée veut aussi se doter de moyens de défense active. En 2023, elle doit lancer le démonstrateur Yoda, qui sera capable d'accompagner des satellites en orbite géostationnaire. Au sein du CSpO (Combined Space Operation), la France cherche aussi depuis un an à établir avec ses partenaires des Five Eyes (États-Unis, Royaume-Uni, Canada, Australie, Nouvelle-Zélande) et de l'Allemagne un « code de bonne conduite ». Dans un entretien accordé au Monde, les chercheurs Marc Julienne et Isabelle Sourbès-Verger décryptent par ailleurs la montée en puissance de la Chine dans le domaine de l'espace, et ses enjeux militaires.
Le Figaro et Le Monde du 25 janvier
July 16, 2024 | International, C4ISR, Security
Iranian hacker group MuddyWater shifts tactics, deploying new backdoor BugSleep in cyberattacks targeting Middle East and European countries.
September 11, 2018 | International, C4ISR
by Debra Werner PARIS — Fleet operator SES plans to revolutionize satellite purchasing and operations. Instead of buying individual satellites tailored for a specific job at a precise orbital location as it has for decades, the Luxembourg-based company is seeking homogenous satellites with digitally processed payloads it can reconfigure to perform any job in geostationary or medium Earth orbit. “We will only buy one type of satellite going forward,” Steve Collar, SES president and chief executive, told reporters Sept. 10 at the World Satellite Business Week conference here. “Exactly the same spacecraft can be operated at 19.2 degrees, 23.5 degrees, 108 degrees East, it doesn't matter. We can put them wherever we want.” If the SES board of directors approves the plan, SES will solicit proposals by the end of the month and begin purchasing in early 2019 the new 2.5 to 2.9-ton spacecraft offering approximately 12.5 kilowatts of power, said Martin Halliwell, SES chief technology officer, who leads the initiative. Prior to announcing its plan, SES worked with 11 potential satellite vendors and selected three for continued cooperation. Company executives declined to name the vendors. SES is embarking on this campaign because it expects satellites to be an integral part of evolving global communications networks. To perform that role, however, the industry will need to expand satellite production dramatically, Collar said. “If we get the savings we think we will, we will be able to significantly scale our network without spending more or more modestly scale our network and spend less,” Collar said. “We haven't yet decided where that comes out.” To further improve economies of scale, SES is encouraging manufacturers to share the new spacecraft design with other customers. “Let's make the party as big as possible,” Halliwell said. Collar added, “We think it will improve the economics of the whole industry.” SES plans to stack three of its future satellites, which don't yet have a brand name, on rockets. The rockets could then drop them off in medium Earth or geostationary transfer orbit, as needed, Halliwell said. SES operates 56 satellites in geostationary orbit and 16 O3B satellites in medium Earth orbit. The firm plans to launch four more O3B satellites in 2019. SES also is investing more than 1 billion euros ($1.16 billion) in O3B mPower, a seven-satellite constellation built by Boeing for internet and data connectivity that is slated to begin launching in 2021. SES's plans to fly the new reprogrammable satellites comes after mPower, Collar said. https://spacenews.com/ses-seeks-interchangeable-satellites
September 13, 2018 | International, Naval
By: Pierre Tran PARIS – Naval Group finds itself in direct competition with German rival ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in Egypt's acquisition of two more corvettes, Hervé Guillou, CEO of the French shipbuilder told Defense News. The contest comes after Egypt in 2014 placed an order for four Naval Group Gowind corvettes worth some €1 billion, with options for two more units. Winning that two-year option has since become anything but certain for the French company. “TKMS is not sitting on its hands,” Guillou said on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Summer Defense University event at the military staff college here. There already is a “permanent presence of the Germans” in Egypt, which operates a fleet of German submarines, Guillou explained. Egypt attracts strong international interest, with the Chinese, Koreans, Dutch shipbuilder Damen and French electronics company Thales very active, he added. The TKMS offer consists of two Meko 200 corvettes, worth €1 billion (US $1.2 billion) excluding weapons, business publication La Tribune reported Sept. 3. That is double the value of the two Gowind 2500 corvettes pitched by Naval Group, the report said. A spokesman for Naval Group declined to comment on the prices. If TKMS were to snatch the business in the end, the French interministerial committee overseeing arms export likely would approve a sale of MBDA-made Aster 15 missiles for the German ships, a French government official said. The company, a joint venture by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo, is pursuing a “platform neutral” sales pitch, placing an emphasis on boosting foreign sales, according to an industry source. Guillou said he attended Egypt's launch on Sept. 6 of the first locally built Gowind, christened Port Said. “It all went well,” he said. The Egyptian Navy sails a FREMM multimission frigate and two Mistral-class helicopter carriers. The four Gowind corvettes will complement that fleet. The day before the Egyptian launch, Guillou was in Poland pitching three Scorpene diesel-electric submarines to the Polish authorities. “There is political support at the highest level,” he said, referring to the French government backing. That offer competes with TKMS offering its 212CD and Saab the A26 boat. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/09/12/french-naval-group-and-germanys-thyssenkrupp-square-off-in-egyptian-warship-deal