Germany to invest billions in military space systems
„Anyone who attacks them could paralyse entire countries”- said Minister Boris Pistorius, referring to systems in space. Germany will allocate €35 billion to the development of space capabilities by 2030.
The Space Congress 2025 in Berlin was attended by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who spoke on the subject of space systems, the ongoing rivalry between the Western world and China and Russia, and the investments that Germany plans to make in developing its own capabilities. These are to become one of the pillars of NATO and European Union security in the future, complementing ongoing programmes.
In his speech, Pistorius highlighted communication systems, Earth observation, weather forecasting, navigation and early warning systems. „We are all dependent on data transmitted in orbit. Every attempt at jamming, every GPS jamming, every attack on satellites affects not only the military or the space industry - it affects millions of people.” - he gave as an example.
He called for particular caution in the context of China and Russia’s actions. His words about blurred boundaries in space coincided with reports by Pistorius (as reported by Reuters) about two Russian Luch-Olymp satellites tracking Intelsat consortium satellites, which are used by the German military, among others.
„In recent years, both countries (editor’s note: Russia and China) have rapidly expanded their capabilities for waging war in space. They can jam, blind, manipulate or kinetically destroy satellites.” - Boris Pistorius, German Minister of Defence.
The German minister announced a comprehensive investment package for a satellite constellation, ground stations, cyber security and orbital launch capabilities. By 2030, €35 billion from the state budget is to be spent on this purpose. The measures will be taken in cooperation with allies.
For example, Bundeswehr satellites are being built under contracts with foreign companies (case of SATCOMBw Stufe 3 telecommunications units from Airbus Defence and Space). The same applies to orbital launch systems. In the example given, Germany will use the Ariane 6 rocket, in the design of which it participates as one of the leaders in terms of the amount of its membership contribution to the European Space Agency (€951.6 million in 2025; a reduction from over €1.1 billion in 2024).
„This architecture is intended to become a strong pillar of Germany in NATO and for Europe, complementing existing Alliance and EU programmes. As a supporting country, Germany is strengthening exchanges with European countries and deepening partnerships and cooperation outside Europe with competent partners who share similar values.” - said Pistorius.
