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On the sidelines of the International Space Summit, Catherine Vautrin, France’s Minister for the Armed Forces and Veterans’ Affairs, announced that the Directorate-General for Armament (DGA) had awarded the CASSIOPÉE contract to Airbus Defence and Space as the lead contractor and its co-contractor Unseenlabs, thereby initiating the renewal of France’s space-based signal intelligence (SIGINT) capability.
Airbus will act as the system integrator and provide the ground segment and control centre as well as a satellite solution based on its latest-generation S250 platform, which has been used most recently for the CO3D constellation. Unseenlabs will bring its expertise in mission planning, ground and on-board processing, will deliver the ground segment, and supply an innovative payload.
By 2032, CASSIOPÉE will succeed the satellites of the CERES constellation to ensure that France retains an operational capability for space-based signal intelligence. In addition to maintaining the current capability, it will offer improved technical performance and greater responsiveness. The CASSIOPÉE space intelligence system forms the high-performance, sovereign core of the CELESTE (Space Electromagnetic Capability) programme.
Space-based electromagnetic intelligence (SIGINT), through the collection and analysis of electromagnetic signals (primarily radar and telecommunications emissions), enables the detection, characterisation and tracking of transmitters that may pose threats to areas of strategic interest and theatres of operation. The long-term sustainability of this capability is a matter of sovereignty: it makes a fundamental contribution to national autonomy in situation assessment and decision-making, and enables continuous strategic monitoring and operational support.
“With this contract, Airbus Defence and Space is contributing to France’s sovereignty and strategic autonomy,” said Alain Fauré, Head of Space Systems at Airbus Defence and Space. “Through our partnership with Unseenlabs, it confirms the vitality of the French space ecosystem.”
“We are particularly proud to be putting the technological and operational expertise developed by Unseenlabs at the service of this capability, which is essential to French autonomy. CASSIOPÉE illustrates the synergy between Airbus, a long-standing player in the space industry, and Unseenlabs, a pioneering company in the French New Space sector. By combining our expertise, we will help equip France with a sovereign, high-performance space-based SIGINT system that is tailored to new operational challenges,” said Clément Galic, co-founder and CEO of Unseenlabs.
