Commandement des Opérations Espace

[Grey Havoc]

This thread is for the new High Command (or grand operations command in the French air force's parlance) for Space Operations of the Armée de l'Air Française that President Macron has just announced. A Space Force in other words. Apparently Macron intends to eventually rename the air force as the Air and Space Force (Force Aérienne et Spatiale?).

Macron announces new 'space force' on eve of Bastille Day

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday announced the creation of a new national military space force command that will eventually be part of his country's air force.

www.thelocal.fr

France's Macron announces creation of a new space force command

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday announced the creation of a new national military space force command that will eventually be part of his country's air force.

phys.org

France’s Air Force is getting a space command

The Air Force will eventually be renamed to Space and Air Force

www.theverge.com

Macron to create French military space force

Donald Trump already pledged to create an American space force by 2020.

www.politico.eu

 

[Grey Havoc]

A number of commentators believe that the new organization will replace the existing Commandement Interarmées de l'Espace (CIE) of the French Armed Forces outright.

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Lets stay on the topic and not speculate on ulterior motives for the announcement.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Tank-net.com

www.tank-net.com

 

[TomcatViP]

France has just officially integrated military space activity with its air force ((link in Fr) : the nearly century old AdlA becoming l'armée de l'air et de l'espace (AdlAE ?)

L'armée de l'Air change de nom pour intégrer l'espace | Le HuffPost

m.huffingtonpost.fr

More bit here also:

L’armée française officialise l’espace comme terrain stratégique

L’armée ne limite plus ses champs d’action à la terre, la mer et les airs. La ministre Florence Parly a profité d’une visite à Salon-de-Provence pour indiquer que l’espace allait devenir l’un des nouveaux territoires d’intervention.

amp.ouest-france.fr

As a side note, French readers will notice how we've cleverly dodged that being branded "la couscous air force" !!

 

[TomcatViP]

New logo:

Based in Toulouse, the Space Command should reach full operational capacity in 2025 with a staff of almost 500. There are currently 220 men and women working on developing capabilities to protect military satellites from being approached by satellites operated by foreign powers.

French Air Force changes name as it looks to the stars

The French Air Force has changed its name and its logo.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

The British counterpart, more or less: https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/uk-space-command.36482/

 

[Grey Havoc]

NATO names location for new military space center

The new center will be NATO’s 27th center of excellence.

www.defensenews.com

PARIS — The French city of Toulouse is to be NATO’s new center for excellence in military space. The decision was taken by NATO on Jan. 28 but was officially announced Feb. 4.
Germany had also lobbied to host the center, which will be set up at the CST (Centre Spatial de Toulouse), which is also to be the headquarters of France’s Military Space Command, on the site of France’s national space studies center known as CNES.

 

[Grey Havoc]

France runs satellite war game in European first

METATEXT

www.spacedaily.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

Earlier story:

France conducts first military drills in space

METATEXT

www.spacedaily.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B700mtZUVk

While it is a Marine Nationale (French Navy) vessel, I wouldn't be surprised if it has been placed under the operational control of the new command.

EDIT:

French ship Monge - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Grey Havoc]

As NATO rolls out 2030 agenda, will it find its place in the space race?

NATO still has to figure out how it can harness military space capabilities that are unevenly spread among its member states.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

NATO expanding defense clause to attacks in space

A top NATO official on Monday said the alliance will expand its defense clause to include attacks in space, ahead of a scheduled summit between member state leaders.NATO Secretary General Jens Stol…

thehill.com

 

[TomcatViP]

A significant move in the right direction, indeed.

 

[Grey Havoc]

But, will any actual flesh be put on such a decision?

 

[Grey Havoc]

NATO leaders extend Article 5 mutual defence clause to space domain

NATO leaders have thrown down the gauntlet to protect their newest operational domain, warning adversaries that any attacks against allied space assets that threaten the...

www.janes.com

 

[TomcatViP]

"Parce que je vole Bien"
This could well be the catch phrase that you could hear soon among other TV commercials : the French air and Space Force (l'AAE - pronounce la la leh) launches its own fashion brand!

Cette institution créée en 1934 a décidé de lancer une marque de prêt-à-porter et d’accessoires en partenariat avec Aero-Design Collection.
-------------//////----------------

This institution, created in 1934, decided to launch a ready-to-wear and accessories brand in partnership with Aero-Design Collection.

L’armée de l’Air et de l’Espace lance sa marque de prêt-à-porter et d'accessoires

L’armée de l’Air et de l’Espace s'associe à Aero-Design Collection pour lancer une marque haut de gamme de prêt-à-porter et d’accessoires.

www.bfmtv.com

 

[TomcatViP]

First French Laser data transmission b/w a Nano satellite and a roadable ground based station:

Transmission de données par laser: "une première mondiale", selon Florence Parly

La ministre des Armées a annoncé au Forum innovation défense l’expérimentation d’un système de communication optique par laser entre un...

lignesdedefense.blogs.ouest-france.fr

 

[TomcatViP]

French Space command confirms suspected hacking of Ka-Sat sattelite of the Via-Sat network that began at Ukraine invasion:

La France confirme une cyberattaque contre une liaison satellite, qui a affecté des Français

Le dysfonctionnement du réseau satellitaire ViaSat depuis le jour de l'invasion russe en Ukraine n'est pas le fait du hasard. Alors que la piste d'une cyberattaque est évoquée depuis plusieurs jours, elle a été confortée par le commandement de l'espace français. La piste de l'attaque...

www.numerama.com

 

[TomcatViP]

France puts space at top of national — and European — security priorities

France is using its temporary role leading the European Council presidency to emphasize the operational domain’s importance across the continent.

www.defensenews.com

 

[TomcatViP]

A bit off from the main topic (French Space Command) but, this week, the first graduated UAS pilots got their wing among other AdlAE French pilots:

Cognac : une première pour les pilotes de drones de la base aérienne

Vendredi 25 mars, les familles étaient conviées sur le tarmac de la base aérienne 709 de Cognac-Châteaubernard pour la cérémonie de remise de brevets aux équipages de chasse dont, pour la première fois, les pilotes de drones

www.sudouest.fr

 

[Grey Havoc]

France to increase space spending by 25%

France will increase spending on national and European space programs as the European Space Agency works to secure commitments for its own significant budget increase.

spacenews.com

The overall increase is in lockstep with ESA’s plans to seek a 25% budget increase at November’s ministerial meeting. ESA will request more than 18 billion euros from its member states to fund existing programs and new initiatives for the next three years.

Josef Aschbacher, ESA director general, defended the increase as a necessity for Europe to keep up with other major space players. During the IAC roundtable, he noted budgets in both the United States and China are rising at similar or even faster rates. “Our proposal of a 25% increase is more or less keeping pace,” he said. “What we are aiming at doing is making sure we are not thrown out of the race.”

 

[TomcatViP]

Yoda seems to be the name of a program that has 2 components: one is a sensor sat, the other an interceptor, a satellite able to reposition itself and close on suspect satellites.

Also discussed here, the probability of a new Space plane.

Worth the read through an online translator:

L'armée de l'Air et de l'Espace songe à se doter d'un avion spatial - Zone Militaire

La Loi de programmation militaire actuellement en vigueur avait fait du domaine spatial une priorité, avec l'élaboration d'une stratégie de défense pour

www.opex360.com

 

[klem]

Various prospective reflections about the French Air and Space force in : Revue Défense nationale. Issue 11, 2023. (https://www.cairn-int.info/journal-revue-defense-nationale.htm).