French warn of ‘Star Wars’ after brush with Russian spy satellite

A RUSSIAN satellite attempted to spy on a satellite providing secure communications for the French military, France’s defence minister said last night, describing it as “Star Wars”.

The Athena-fidus satellite, operated jointly with Italy, was approached “a bit too closely” by Russia’s Luch-olymp craft, known for its advanced listening capabilities, Florence Parly said.

“It got so close that we might have imagined it was trying to intercept our communications,” she said at France’s National Centre for Space Studies in Toulouse, southern France.

She said “this little Star Wars” happened a year ago and that eavesdropping was an “act of espionage” as well as being “unfriendly.”

Ms Parly said officials took “appropriate measures” and continued to monitor the satellite after it left, and observed it manoeuvring close to other satellites. Last month Washington accused Moscow of developing anti-satellite weapons and cited “very abnormal behaviour” of a “space object” deployed by Russia last October. It also dismissed a proposed treaty by Russia and China aimed at averting a space arms race, calling it “hollow and hypocritical”.

Ms Parly said: “We are well aware that other major players in space are deploying intriguing objects into orbit, experimenting with potential offensive capabilities, and conducting manoeuvres which leave no doubt as to their aggressive intent.”

President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to develop a “space defence strategy” for France, and Ms Parly said experts were preparing recommendations that she intended to pass on by the end of the year.

“We’re at risk – our communications, our military manoeuvres and our daily operations – if we don’t react,” she added.

She noted the call by Donald Trump, the US president, last month to create a “Space Force” to assert US dominance in orbit and protect against vulnerabilities to its satellite-based systems. “I’ve heard some people laugh,” Ms Parly said, but “I’m not among them.

“I see this as an extremely powerful signal, one of confrontations to come, of the increasing importance of space, of the future challenges.

“We know that space is becoming militarised. We’re not going to stand by and watch.”

The EU is putting aside £15billion in its 2021-27 budget for space, with most going on the Galileo military and civilian satellite navigation system.