Military Space Operations

"Military space operations encompass all activities carried out by or on behalf of the Ministry of the Armed Forces in, from and to space to guarantee the availability, monitoring, safety and security of national space capabilities and services or those of national interest, and thus preserve our freedom of assessment, access and action in this environment." - Defense space strategy (July 2019)

Military space operations (MSO) consist of operating space capabilities in support of government authorities and military operations, thus contributing to their effectiveness. They also include actions taken in space to protect our assets and prevent aggression. They contribute to the security of our national territory, the robustness of our economy and the protection of our populations.

Since its creation, the French Space Command has developed its ability to conduct military space operations and exercise operational control over the resources allocated to it. Bringing together the Armed Forces' space units withina Space Operations Air Brigade (BAOS), the CDE fulfills the missions of supporting national space capabilities, providing space support to operations, space situational awareness and action in space.

The Space Operations Command and Control Center (C3OS) is the operational command level for military space operations. It contributes to the planning and conduct of space operations, mainly in the fields of Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and action in space, in conjunction with the National Center of Space Studies (CNES), the Operations Planning and Management Center (CPCO), as well as tactical units, government and commercial operators and allies. It also has functional authority over tactical space units on CMOS and COSMOS. It has the secure communications resources required for national, interministerial and international operational dialogue.

C3OS

C3OS has secure communications systems for maintaining continuous operational dialogue in the national, interministerial and international domains. From C3OS, the French Space Command :

• establishes space situational awareness and carries out strategic-level operational analyses for the authorities, based on contributions from its units and partners;
• conducts national operations, usually in multinational cooperation - sensor alignment and analysis of space domain situations and space intelligence (RIS - “Renseignement d’Intérêt Spatial”);
• provides support to operations - space weather, GPS signal precision and satellite overpass prediction;
• contributes to broadcasting warnings of dangerous atmospheric entries.

CMOS

The Satellite Observation Military Center (CMOS) brings together all the military resources needed to implement space observation and eavesdropping from space. A unit of the French Space Command, based at Creil air base, the center receives its operational directives from the CDE, supplemented by those of the Military Intelligence Directorate (DRM).
As a service provider, CMOS meets the needs of accredited defense customers for images acquired by satellite systems. It is responsible for gathering requirements and for all image processing operations, apart from their exploitation. The DRM, as operational controller of the satellite payload, sets national priorities and prioritizes requests in collaboration with its foreign counterparts for satellites operated by France. CDE, as operational controller of satellite platforms, ensures satellite availability in conjunction with CNES.

CMOS guarantees access to space-based information (imaging, signals intelligence) to ensure processing of this information by the relevant users on the ground. For this purpose, CMOS:

• guarantees permanent access to space imaging for the French Ministry of the Armed Forces;
• maintains the links and transmits the data necessary to provide service between:
  • users located in France;
  • partner countries in MUSIS (Multinational Space-based Imaging System - Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Sweden), Cosmo-Skymed (Italy) and Sar-Lupe (Germany);
  • operation controllers for payloads (Directorate of Military Intelligence - DRM) and platforms (CDE) ;
  • satellite station-keeping centres.

BAVS 101

The Air Base 101, the first air base dedicated to space operations (BAVS 101) is the body responsible for preparing the ground for the CDE in Toulouse, where the central core of France’s Military Space Operations (OSM) is housed. Its operating near the Toulouse Space Centre (CST), a key site of French Space Agency (Centre national d’études spatiales - CNES).

Its main missions are to prepare for the expanding role of the CDE at the heart of the French space ecosystem in Toulouse and to optimise interoperation procedures with the CNES, especially with regard to the transfer of operational and technical skills between the two organisations, with the long-term aim of establishing the capacity for autonomous operation of military satellites. It has several units, including: 

• LISA (Laboratoire d’Innovation Spatiale des Armées): the missions of the LISA, the Defence Space Innovation Laboratory, include driving and fostering the emergence of innovative solutions to meet the needs of the CDE and the armed forces;
• COSMOS (Centre Opérationnel de Surveillance Militaire des Objets Spatiaux): the role of COSMOS, the Operational Centre for Military Surveillance of Space Objects, is to detect and analyse every space event of military interest or potentially threatening our national interests and to provide space-based support for operations;
• ECAS (Escadron de Conduite des Actions Spatiales): the ECAS, Space Action Operating Squadron, is currently preparing to operate action satellites in space. It also takes part in satellite maintenance and station-keeping operations and is responsible for planning the payloads of observation systems;
• CRIS (Centre de Renseignement d’Intérêt Spatial): the CRIS, Space Intelligence Centre, is tasked with assessing the space and counterspace capabilities and intentions of foreign powers and of the principal civilian and military players;
• EMPS (Equipe de Marque des Programmes Spatiaux):  the EMPS, Lead Team for Space Programmes, ensures that all space-based systems for earth observation, electromagnetic signal acquisition and space domain control meet the requirements of the French armed forces.

DPOE

The Operational Readiness and Employment Division (DPOE) is responsible for French Space Command (CDE) matters concerning employment, doctrine, exercises and RETEX. As the main point of contact for other armies, directorates and services in its area of competence, the division also responds to various requests from BAOS and CDE.