GERMANY - Germany unveiled the country's first national space security strategy on Wednesday, with Defence Minister Boris Pistorius vowing to expand military and civilian capabilities in orbit.
The strategy comes weeks after Pistorius announced plans for the Armed Forces to spend 35 billion euros ($41 billion) by 2030 on space defences, citing growing threats posed by Russia and potentially China. "We must develop and possess the capacity for deterrence and defence," Pistorius told a press conference in Berlin. Both Russia and China are "heavily involved" in space and "positioning themselves to influence other satellites" from Europe and the United States, Pistorius said.
The minister acknowledged that "Germany alone will not keep pace with Russia and China," but said European NATO countries can work together "to ensure that we remain capable of action and defence". The German initiative follows other European efforts to achieve greater independence in space. The multinational European Space Agency plans to launch an internet satellite constellation, dubbed IRIS2, by 2030. (Bssnews)
