EU to set up European Space Shield in 2026
The goal is to beef up countries' capabilities to protect their space assets, including satellites powering comms, observation, and navigation
The European Commission plans to formally start its new Space Shield programme for satellite defence in the second half of 2026 as part of efforts to protect spacecraft already in orbit that provide the bloc with key observation, communication, and navigation capabilities.
The so-called European Space Shield will be used to protect “space assets and services” through national and commercial satellites, according to a Defence Readiness Roadmap released on Thursday and running to 2030.
The plan is for EU leaders to formally endorse the Space Shield – likely to cost billions of euros to develop and years to deploy – before the end of this year, and before efforts to prioritise space projects as part of existing EU spending programmes.
“It is proposed to set up and protect a comprehensive European system of space capabilities that serve defence purposes, building on the EU space systems and existing national capacities,” the defence roadmap states.
The announcements come amid a wave of suspected Russian drone incursions into European airspace, including sitings of unidentified craft that have disrupted airports, although the Kremlin has denied any involvement.
The defence roadmap also describes the Space Shield as “key” to ensuring “the protection and resilience of space assets and services against growing threats”.
The satellite-defence network will be expected to focus on tackling threats such as “jamming and spoofing” and “in-space operations and services”, per the roadmap. A time-line set out in the document envisages the Space Shield launching in the second quarter of 2026.
In addition to national satellites, the EU runs the Galileo geonavigation network, and Copernicus earth observation constellation. It’s also developing a communications alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink – dubbed IRIS² – which is set to be fully operational in the 2030s.
The Commission plans to beef up spending on defence and space in the next multiannual financial framework running from 2028 to 2034 with a combined budget of €131 billion. The European Space Agency, which works with the EU on space programmes, will also close its next multi-year budget at a meeting in Bremen in late November.
(jp, nl)
