On 15 October 2025, the French Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans, Catherine Vautrin, and the German Federal Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius, signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) launching the JEWEL (Joint Early Warning for a European Lookout) initiative.

This project marks a decisive step towards building a European early warning capability to complement that provided by the United States.

It will contribute to NATO’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD), while strengthening the European pillar of the Alliance.

What is early warning?

Early warning is the ability to detect the launch of a missile, track its trajectory throughout its flight, and transmit data in real time to command centres in order to activate appropriate countermeasures, including interception if possible. It also contributes to the mission of understanding and anticipating threats and allows for the attribution of responsibility for a potential attack.

This capability is based on two complementary segments:

• in space, satellites equipped with infrared sensors detect missile launches thanks to the heat emitted by the booster;
• on the ground, a network of fixed and mobile radars operating on different frequency bands then tracks the trajectory of ballistic missiles and, for over-the-horizon (OTH) radars, that of cruise missiles flying at low altitude.

This system can also be reinforced by detection capabilities in higher airspace (HA) to extend, complement and refine surveillance of certain critical geographical areas.

All of these sensors feed into a command and control (C2) system designed to process data in real time.

This system is capable of analysing threats, issuing rapid alerts and coordinating responses.

Today, Europe still depends on information from U.S. early warning systems.

The development of a sovereign European system would strengthen the continent’s strategic autonomy and consolidate the European pillar of NATO.

It is with this in mind that France and Germany have decided to join forces in the JEWEL initiative to build the first European early warning capability together.

An initial Franco-German agreement for the space component

The space component is the cornerstone at the heart of the JEWEL project.

It is this component that can detect a missile launch from space, even before it enters the areas covered by ground-based radars.

It thus provides the initial critical data that feeds into the entire alert and decision-making chain.

To lay the foundations for this architecture, the two ministers have signed a bilateral cooperation agreement specifically dedicated to the space component of the JEWEL project.

Its objective is clear: to accelerate the entry into service of an initial operational capability (IOC) for a European space-based early warning system by the early 2030s.

This initial capability will form the cornerstone of the overall architecture being studied as part of the ODIN’S EYE project, supported by the European Defence Fund (EDF).

It will serve as the first building block of a future comprehensive system combining space-based sensors, ground-based radars and interconnected command centres.

Specifically, the agreement provides for France and Germany to each launch one or two complementary and interoperable geostationary satellites capable of continuously monitoring missile launches from space.

It also provides for the creation of a common interface, called a ‘preliminary interoperability backbone’, which will ensure the networking of the two national systems, facilitate the exchange of data in real time and prepare for the strengthening of the capability through future European components.

This interconnection marks the first step towards a fully European capability, which will gradually expand thanks to the contribution of other partner States.

It will ultimately enable the creation of an integrated warning architecture, combining space-based, ground and command resources within a fully European and sovereign system.

Cooperation originating from the Franco-German Defence and Security Council

This breakthrough fulfils one of the commitments made at the Franco-German Defence and Security Council (CFADS/DFVSR) meeting in Toulon on 29 August 2025.

It illustrates the shared desire of France and Germany to provide Europe with sovereign assets in a key area for its security: the detection and warning of ballistic and hypersonic threats.

By launching JEWEL, the two nations are fully assuming their leading role in building a European early warning capability.

By strengthening the European pillar of the Alliance, this initiative contributes to NATO missile defence.

The success of this cooperation relies on close coordination between civilian and military actors in both countries:

• in France, the Defence Procurement and Technology Agency (DGA), the Defence Innovation Agency (AID), the Directorate for International and European Cooperation (DICE), the Directorate for Operations, In-Service Support and Digital Technology (DOMN) and the Defence System Architecture Department (SASD);
• in Germany, their counterparts in the Federal Ministry of Defence and the national space industry.

The French and German teams will now work to promote the JEWEL initiative to other European partners, with a view to making it the basis for a future pan-European early warning system that is integrated, interoperable and fully sovereign.