In a remarkable show of military collaboration, French and American military satellites have engaged in joint operations as part of the United States Space Command’s multinational strategy for space warfare. This announcement was made by France’s Space Command on a recent Sunday.
"This operation serves as an impressive testament to our capabilities to coordinate and maneuver together in space," a translated excerpt from the French statement highlighted.
The operation, known as a bilateral rendezvous and proximity operation (RPO), was executed under the auspices of US SPACECOM’s Multinational Force-Operation Olympic Defender. This initiative not only underscores France’s commitment to conduct proactive and responsible missions but also aims to deter potential threats against its interests in outer space.
RPOs involve two satellites moving in close proximity to each other and can serve various military functions, including inspection, refueling, maintenance, or even offensive actions against hostile satellites.
France collaborated with the United States for this operation, as confirmed by a spokesperson from US SPACECOM. Although the command acknowledged the exercise on the same day, it did not specify France as a partner at that time. The spokesperson remarked, "This recent bilateral operation illustrates not only our coalition’s ability to plan and carry out dynamic and responsible space operations but also emphasizes our unwavering commitment to defend our mutual interests in space together."
According to the French announcement, while this rendezvous marked the second operation conducted with the US military, it was notably the first one that was jointly planned under the Olympic Defender framework. France officially became a participant in the American-led space war planning and training initiative last October.
The initial joint RPO with the US took place concurrently but was arranged independently as a bilateral exercise, as noted by USSPACECOM earlier in August. During this period, a Space Force officer was honored with a French military medal for his significant contributions to the operation.
Currently, six allied countries are actively participating in Operation Olympic Defender, which includes Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Among these nations, the UK is notable for having conducted a joint RPO with the US, which occurred from September 4 to September 12.
While neither the US nor its allies have disclosed the specific satellites involved in these joint RPOs, the private satellite tracking company COMSPOC revealed that the maneuvers with the UK involved a US Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellite. According to their findings, the GSSAP satellite, designated USA 271, initiated its movement on September 5 and concluded its closest approach to the UK’s SKYNET 5A military communications satellite on September 12, coming within just 13 kilometers (about 8.1 miles).
COMSPOC monitored the Franco-American operation as well, reporting that it involved another GSSAP, USA 324, alongside France’s SYRACUSE 3A satellite. Observations indicated that the two satellites engaged in three separate sets of maneuvers over the course of November, demonstrating a pattern where SYRACUSE 3A appeared to lead the movements while USA 324 followed, typically lagging by a day. Their closest interaction was recorded at approximately 25.1 kilometers (15.6 miles).
During a significant conference held by the Air & Space Forces Association in September, a senior official from the Space Force shared insights about ongoing discussions between USSPACECOM and its partners involved in Olympic Defender regarding potential future cooperative operations.
They stated, "We cannot provide specific details on any prospective operations; however, the Multinational Force – Operation Olympic Defender is continuously refining its partnership into an integrated operational unit that is prepared to confront threats in space if necessary. The enhancement of our shared tactics through planning, training, and executing combined operations with our allies in all domains is crucial for the maturation of our multinational force."
