Why German MoD views satellites as modern life's "Achilles' heel" Berlin to pour billions into military space security

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has unveiled a sweeping plan to invest €35 billion ($41 billion) in space security over the next five years, reflecting Berlin’s growing concerns about threats from Russia and China to Western satellite infrastructure.

Speaking at the Federation of German Industries’ annual Space Congress in Berlin on September 25, Pistorius said the investments will enable the Bundeswehr to “effectively defend and deter in space in the medium and long term.”

Central to the plan is the acquisition of new satellite constellations for early warning, reconnaissance, and communications. These systems will be dual-use, with both civilian and military applications. Other planned measures include hardening systems against disruptions and attacks, building redundancy through several networked satellite constellations, and developing improved situational awareness through radars, telescopes, and future sentinel satellites. The Bundeswehr will also establish secured, on-demand launch capacity and set up a dedicated military satellite operations center within its Space Command.

Pistorius emphasized cybersecurity as a critical priority, stressing the need to protect “all space systems.” His remarks echoed earlier comments by Maj. Gen. Michael Traut, head of the German Space Command, who has been cited in an article by Breaking Defense. Back in May he described satellite “self-protection measures” as being high on his wishlist. The defence minister pointed to specific incidents underscoring the vulnerability of space infrastructure.

He cited Russia’s February 2023 cyberattack on Viasat, which disrupted satellite communications ahead of the invasion of Ukraine and even shut down German wind turbines. He also accused Russian Luch/Olymp satellites of shadowing US-operated Intelsat communications satellites used by the Bundeswehr, continuing a pattern of “inspector satellites” manoeuvring dangerously close to Western assets in geosynchronous orbit since 2015.

Pistorius described satellite networks as “an Achilles’ heel of modern societies,” warning that attacks could “paralyze entire nations.”

German private sector following suite

Against this backdrop, the German government is turning to domestic and European industry to bolster its space resilience. He said Berlin will seek to “promote innovations from small and medium-sized enterprises in the future in a non-bureaucratic and early stage — and use larger companies as system integrators to integrate small businesses and startups.”

Some of these partnerships are already taking shape. Europe’s Arianespace announced a contract to launch two new SATCOMBw Stufe 3 satellites aboard Ariane 6 rockets, replacing Germany’s existing COMSATBw 1 and 2 communications satellites.

Meanwhile, Planet Labs Germany GmbH, the European arm of the US-based Earth observation company, revealed it had secured a “multi-year €240 million agreement, funded by the German government, in support of European peace and security” to provide high-resolution imagery and intelligence. The firm also pledged to start producing next-generation Pelican satellites in Germany, in what it described as a capital investment expected to exceed eight figures.

According to the article, German space company OHB, headquartered in Bremen, is also poised to be a major beneficiary. OHB already manages the Bundeswehr’s SAR-Lupe radar satellites, as well as their SARah replacements.

The latter experienced technical setbacks when antenna deployment failed but were recently recovered and brought into service.

Industry analyst Caleb Henry of Quilty Space said OHB is Germany’s “biggest space prime” and is well positioned to gain from the new investments. He added that the proposal could also benefit Germany’s emerging launch startups, such as Isar Aerospace and Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), and might even advance Berlin’s ambitions for its own medium Earth orbit (MEO) constellation.

The €35 billion plan signals a potential shift in the balance of space power within Europe. Traditionally, France has dominated the continent’s military space capabilities, but Germany’s new strategy — spanning military satellites, launch capacity, and industrial partnerships — could position Berlin as a co-leader in European space defence.

By Nazrin Sadigova