Europe Is Rearming Together — Except in Space

Why It Matters

Without an integrated European space command, the continent cannot fully detach from U.S. support, risking duplicated effort and reduced deterrence as great‑power competition intensifies.

Key Takeaways

• Europe’s defence minilaterals thrive, yet space cooperation stays fragmented.
• EU projects IRIS² and ODIN’s EYE target secure communications and early warning.
• National counter‑space plans risk duplication without joint European planning.
• Reliance on US Space Force data hampers autonomous military space awareness.
• Proposes a European pillar within minilateral frameworks to lead space exercises.

Pulse Analysis

The surge of minilateral defence arrangements—such as the Joint Expeditionary Force and the Anglo‑German Kensington Treaty—reflects Europe’s desire to shoulder more of its security burden amid waning confidence in long‑term U.S. commitments. Space, however, is the missing link; modern warfare increasingly relies on satellite‑based communications, navigation and intelligence, making orbital dominance a prerequisite for credible deterrence. By contrast, Europe’s space strategy is split between civilian‑focused EU surveillance and a patchwork of national counter‑space projects, leaving a critical gap in operational capability.

Current European efforts illustrate both ambition and fragmentation. The EU’s IRIS² constellation aims to deliver encrypted, resilient communications for military users, while the ODIN’s EYE program seeks an early‑warning layer against missile launches. Simultaneously, ESA’s Resilience from Space initiative blends Earth observation and navigation for dual‑use missions. Yet, operational space domain awareness remains a civil mandate, and militaries still lean on data from the U.S. Space Force’s 18th Space Defense Squadron. National programs—Britain’s co‑orbital interceptors, Germany’s £35 billion (≈$47 billion) directed‑energy suite, and France’s low‑Earth‑orbit inspection capability—are developed without a shared European roadmap, risking redundancy and slower fielding.

A pragmatic path forward is to embed a European pillar within existing minilateral frameworks, allowing allies to lead joint space exercises while the United States acts as a supporting partner. Such a pillar could coordinate sensor sharing, develop common counter‑space doctrines, and allocate specialization—one nation focusing on directed‑energy weapons, another on non‑cooperative spacecraft capture. By doing so, Europe would enhance its autonomous space‑operational tempo, reduce duplication, and reinforce transatlantic burden‑sharing, positioning the continent to deter adversaries in an increasingly contested orbital environment.