France Conducts Its First Military Exercise In Space

France has launched its first-ever military exercise codenamed AsterX in space on Thursday in order to “ stress test” its defence system against potential adversaries.

This is the first-ever military space exercise in Europe and is part of France ambitions to become the world’s third-largest space power.

The exercise involves 18 simulated events from 8 to 12 March, conducted in France space command operations room in Toulouse.

Michel Friedling, the head of France’s newly created Space Command, called the exercises a “stress test of our systems” and said they “were a first for the French army and even a first in Europe.”

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Codenamed “AsterX” in a nod to the first French satellite Asterix from 1965, the drills will simulate the monitoring of a potentially dangerous space object, as well as a threat to a satellite.

#AsterX2021 ? L’exercice spatial "AsterX 2021" organisé par le Commandement de l’espace (CDE) se déroulera du 8 au 12 mars sur le site toulousain du @CNES.#Espace #NotreDéfense@Armees_Gouv pic.twitter.com/AfwONYKxvg

— Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace (@Armee_de_lair) March 4, 2021

“A series of events appear and create crisis situations or threats against our space infrastructure, but not only this,” Friedling told reporters from the Space Command headquarters in Toulouse in southwest France.

The new US Space Force and German space agencies are taking part in the French exercises, which began on Monday and will run until Friday.

France’s Space Command was announced in 2019 and is set to number 500 people by 2025.

“Our allies and adversaries are militarising space… we need to act,” Defence Minister Florence Parly said at the time.
She said that France planned to develop anti-satellite laser weapons and new surveillance capabilities to close the gap with rivals China, Russia and the United States.