Defense: why the State is betting on the Eutelsat nugget

The war in Ukraine has demonstrated the usefulness of low-Earth orbit satellites (between 300 and 2,000 km in altitude). Without these constellations circling the planet—the most famous of which is Starlink , operated by billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX— the drones launched by the hundreds each day by the warring parties could not be guided to their targets. The same goes for missiles.

In order to regain strategic autonomy and avoid being dependent on fickle allies, particularly American ones, the French satellite telecommunications company Eutelsat could be the one to give our army back its sights - to which Emmanuel Macron promised additional resources this Sunday - hence the Élysée's interest in accelerating its development.

One episode in particular made Europeans aware of their technological and military vulnerability. At the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Elon Musk 's satellites were used extensively by the Ukrainian army. Before the eccentric billionaire threatened to cut off communications overnight.

In June, the French government decided to increase its stake in Eutelsat , which it calls a "golden nugget," to €717 million. This is a vital investment for the company based in Issy-les-Moulineaux (Hauts-de-Seine), which is struggling to financially digest its merger with the British constellation OneWeb, which it acquired in 2023 .

OneWeb currently operates a network of 700 satellites, making it the leading competitor to Starlink, which has placed ten times more in the sky. The gap between first and second in the class is enormous.

The state investment, supplemented by private investors for a total sum of 1.35 billion euros, will provide breathing space and resources, especially as the European Union is considering making Eutelsat its champion against the Americans and Chinese.

Time is of the essence, as the battle for space communications is already well underway. Following on from Starlink and China's Guowang, the Kuiper project, led by e-commerce giant Amazon, has just launched with lofty ambitions.