Europe’s Bold Spending on NATO’s New Battleground: Space

Behind the growing investments in the West’s “next frontier of warfare”

As Europe faces mounting threats from Russian and Chinese space assets, several NATO members — notably Germany, the U.K., and France — are dramatically expanding their budgets for space defense.
According to CNN (Nov 9), Germany plans to allocate €35 billion (US $40.2 billion) over the next five years for space-related projects — a figure that reflects a major political commitment to catching up with global rivals.

Juliana Suess, a security policy researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), described it as “a large sum that clearly shows political determination to catch up and truly advance capabilities,” but warned that “the space race is a continuous process — it has no finish line.”
She added that Europe still has a long way to go, and Germany is “certainly among the countries that need to catch up the most.”

Germany’s Ambitious Space Push

A spokesperson for Germany’s Defense Ministry confirmed that the country will spend about €1.9 billion (US $2.2 billion) on space projects in 2025 alone, with funding expected to “increase significantly in the years ahead.”

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius underscored the urgency at a Berlin space-industry conference in September:

“Russia’s actions, especially in space, pose a fundamental threat to all of us — one that we can no longer ignore.”

According to Pistorius, both Russia and China have rapidly expanded their space-warfare capabilities, developing technologies capable of jamming, blinding, manipulating, or even destroying satellites using kinetic weapons.

The U.K. and France Step Up

The United Kingdom has also announced a boost in its defense budget and a strategic review emphasizing greater focus on “space, cyber, and electromagnetic” operations.
In October, London revealed that it was testing sensors to detect laser threats in orbit aimed at protecting British satellites.

However, analysts at Chatham House argue that Britain must invest more aggressively in the short term.
They criticized the review for “failing to fully appreciate the urgency of the space threat,” warning that the U.K. risks falling behind.

France, meanwhile, has been actively promoting the concept of “bodyguard satellites” — spacecraft designed to protect other satellites from hostile interference.
Clayton Swope, deputy director of the Space Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington D.C., noted that France “has been vocal about developing these systems,” though most designs remain under development.

NATO’s Expanding Role in Orbit

Since 2019, NATO has recognized outer space as an operational domain of warfare and has extended Article 5 to include it — meaning that an attack on a member’s space assets could trigger a collective response.
Still, experts at the U.S.-based RAND Corporation caution that the alliance must “accelerate its space strategy” or risk losing momentum at a critical time.

While the risk of falling behind is real, particularly compared with China’s rapid progress, evidence also shows that Russia’s own military-space integration remains inconsistent.
Suess cited an example from Ukraine: a downed Russian fighter jet was found carrying both a domestic navigation system and a civilian GPS device taped to its dashboard — highlighting gaps in Russia’s satellite infrastructure.

Analysts have also found that Russia sometimes purchases commercial satellite imagery from private markets, suggesting its domestic capabilities cannot fully meet military needs.

“The scattered evidence from Ukraine shows Russia doesn’t have as much confidence in its systems as many expected,” Suess concluded.

An Old Threat, Re-Emerged

Germany and the U.K. are only the latest to sound the alarm.
The United States and France raised similar concerns more than a decade ago, noting that Russian satellites appeared to be shadowing or collecting data on their assets — including commercial ones.

In 2015, the U.S. Defense Department revealed that a Russian military satellite had parked suspiciously close to two Intelsat satellites, prompting Washington to contact Moscow.
By 2017, after France and Italy jointly launched an intelligence satellite, Russian spacecraft were observed quickly maneuvering nearby to “inspect” it.

“Such behavior isn’t entirely new,” Suess told CNN, “but it must be viewed in the wider context of the Ukraine war and Russia’s incursions into NATO airspace.”

China: A More Capable Challenger

While Russia poses an immediate geographic threat to Europe, China represents the broader, longer-term challenge.
According to Suess, “The larger space power, quite clearly, is China.”

Chinese satellites have demonstrated remarkably precise and high-speed proximity maneuvers, astonishing Western observers.
Some Chinese spacecraft are even equipped with robotic arms capable of moving other satellites into different orbits — a capability that has fueled international concern.

Suess noted that China possesses far greater financial and technological resources to sustain its space ambitions.

“We won’t see Russia expanding much in space right now — it’s running out of resources,” she said.

CSIS’s Clayton Swope added that Beijing’s space activity is “vibrant but unpredictable.”

“We don’t always know what they’re doing,” he remarked. “And what they do often leaves people puzzled.”

The New Reality for Europe

In recent months, both Germany and the U.K. have repeatedly warned about the increasing threat from Russian and Chinese satellites.
Britain’s Space Command chief, Major General Paul Tedman, told the BBC that Russian satellites have been tracking British space assets and causing interference “on a weekly basis.”

“They carry equipment capable of observing our satellites and trying to extract data from them,” Tedman said.

As these developments unfold, NATO faces growing pressure to translate political will into tangible orbital defense capability — from surveillance and satellite resilience to rapid-response mechanisms in space.

The coming decade is expected to define how well Europe can coordinate its fragmented national programs into a collective shield against the new frontier of warfare.

Conclusion

Europe’s renewed focus on space defense marks one of the most consequential military shifts of the 21st century.
For the first time, major NATO economies are treating orbit as essential national infrastructure, not just a communications platform.

Yet experts agree the challenge ahead is daunting: maintaining pace with the United States’ established lead, countering China’s innovation, and addressing Russia’s unpredictable aggression — all while navigating the immense cost of space militarization.

In Suess’s words, “The space race never ends — it only accelerates.”

FAQs

1. Why are NATO countries increasing spending on space defense?
Because space has become a critical domain for communication, surveillance, and deterrence. Growing threats from Russia and China — including anti-satellite weapons and signal interference — have pushed European members to strengthen capabilities within NATO’s strategic framework.

2. Which European nations are leading these investments?
Germany, the U.K., and France currently lead in budget and technological development. Germany’s €35 billion plan stands out as one of the largest single commitments in Europe’s defense-space history.

3. How does NATO view space operations under its charter?
Since 2019, NATO has classified space as a combat domain and extended Article 5 protections to cover space assets. An attack on one member’s satellite could therefore be treated as an attack on the entire alliance.

4. Is China now a greater concern than Russia in space?
Experts say yes — China’s pace of innovation, resources, and unpredictable maneuvers make it a long-term strategic challenge. Russia remains an immediate threat for Europe, but Beijing’s growing orbital power is reshaping the global balance in space security.