The European Defence Fund plans to deploy a satellite that could detect and counter enemy spacecraft.
The European Commission announced a $7 million investment for the project, called Autonomous Space Situational Awareness Bodyguard Onboard Satellite.
According to the EDF’s two-page fact sheet, the planned satellite will be capable of finding “weak points of the threat satellite” and shooting lasers or deploying a robot to mitigate possible attacks.
The project is designed to improve Europe’s space superiority, especially amid reports that Russia and China are developing anti-satellite weapons.
The EDF selected 12 companies from eight European Union countries to work on Bodyguard. Agenium Space from Toulouse, France, will oversee the consortium.
France is also building its fleet of satellites equipped with lasers that can shoot back at space threats. The French Defense Ministry plans to launch a demonstration mission dubbed YODA (Yeux en Orbite pour un Demonstrateur Agile) in 2025.
The EDF is also funding the development of the European System for Outsized Cargo Airlift, with Germany’s Airbus leading the effort.
The EC is investing $1.08 billion across 54 defense industrial research and development projects.
