EADS SPACE - at the heart of European Space defence

The various new risks Europe is currently facing need a comprehensive security and defence approach. Space assets are crucial to identify when a risk is evolving toward a threat and then to provide real crisis management capabilities. EADS SPACE has the ambition to contribute to the construction of a true European Space Defence and Security capabilities.

In the framework of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), there are several existing or current initiatives, such as BOC (Besoin Opérationnel Commun) signed by 6 European countries, the European Capabilities Action Plan (ECAP) and the most recent report of the panel of experts on space and security. EADS Space clearly supports these efforts to a unified requirements and single procurement source for the various Defense actors and armed forces.

Thanks to its unique European scope, EADS SPACE has the industrial capabilities to contribute to the complete range of European security and defence applications by:

To enable Europe to implement a true European Security and Defence Policy, EADS SPACE would like to achieve a contractual partnership with the Agencies that would give the ordering party a "best value for money" approach in making major programme decisions.

Space is the cornerstone of Defence systems

The conflict in Iraq has shown that satellites are now at the heart of all defence systems providing the essential telecommunications, surveillance, reconnaissance, navigation, guidance, eavesdropping and meteorological services. Their contribution to the new operational concepts such as ‘Network Centric Warfare’ is primary in the chain of command and the handling of information guaranteeing superiority in the conduct of operations.

As a truly European company, EADS Astrium has the knowledge and experience to thoroughly understand and satisfy the requirements of the European users (such as the launch of the European Galileo Programme).

EADS Astrium is the leading manufacturer in Europe for satellite systems intended for all applications of European Defence.

Within the next few years, EADS Astrium will supply the Skynet 5 telecommunications system for the British armed forces. The system includes at least 2 satellites. In the field of reconnaissance, EADS Astrium provides the Helios II system, which includes 2 satellites and the communication intelligence demonstrator (Essaim).

SKYNET 5

EADS Astrium was awarded the contract by Paradigm Secure Communications for the supply of the UK MOD’s secured military satellite communications system Skynet 5 which will be launched in 2006 and 2007.

EADS Astrium is the prime contractor for the design and build of two Skynet 5 spacecrafts as well as implementing the upgrade of the ground segment and provision of additional satellite communications terminals.

EADS Astrium’s range of terminals is a major supplier to military forces of several nations offering products that include fixed and transportable stations, as well as modems, network management solutions and specialised systems for airborne, shipborne and tactical use.

Land
Land-based tactical terminals are designed to survive transportation and operation in the harsh environments during worldwide deployments. Typical deployment missions range from a few hours for EADS Astrium’s rugged manportable terminal and selfcontained vehicle carrying a 1.7m antenna, to several months for EADS Astrium’s terminal equipped with a 2.4m antenna that are normally used in a field headquarters role.

EADS Astrium is also pre-eminent in the design and construction of major ground communication stations and control centres. Capabilities include turnkey solutions, from project definition and systems architecture design to commissioning and test including network and terminal management systems and logistics support.

Naval
The shipborne communications terminal range includes systems optimised for the challenging environment of small warships; as well as larger variants to cover the higher data rate requirements of command and support vessels. Applications in voice, telegraphy, video conferencing and data whilst the unique 3-axis design of the antennas ensures continuous operation in all sea conditions.

EADS Astrium’s shipborne system is in service with 10 navies with over 120 shipsets having been supplied.

Air
The lightweight, compact military MASTER airborne terminal provides global secure voice and data communications and is suitable for maritime patrol, reconnaissance, transport and VIP aircraft as well as UAVs. A fully stabilised antenna ensures reliable service whilst the single, low-mass cabin unit delivers high data rates.

Link between satcom and UAV
When UAVs have to operate far away from their decision pole, the need to transmit all the data gathered by the various sensors in the fastest possible way inside a global architecture is evident.

To reach this absolute requirement one cannot get away from Space Data Relay system.

In the future, the need of very high data rate and secure link will be necessary. This is why DGA has selected EADS Astrium to work on a demonstrator called LOLA, which will validate the feasibility of using optical links between an aircraft and a satellite. Optical links will allow the information transmission at a rate of few hundreds Mbits/sec, could the solution will be very valuable for the global efficiency of an UAV system.

SPOT
As prime contractor for the SPOT remote sensing satellites, EADS Astrium develops and builds the platform for these satellites and the HRV (high-resolution visible) imaging instruments, as well as the derivatives. Three SPOT satellites are currently in operational use, allowing daily visibility of virtually any point of the globe, with a resolution of 2.5 meters. SPOT 5 is equipped with a HRS instrument that provides stereoscopic coverage to produce digital elevation models very rapidly. This capacity is in great demand by various MoD especially for programation of cruise missiles.

The re-use of SPOT 4's platform for HELIOS I and SPOT 5's platform for HELIOS II, has optimised both these military observation programmes.

HELIOS I
The first military reconnaissance system developed in Europe was jointly funded by the French, Italian and Spanish Governments. HELIOS IA was launched in July 1995 and HELIOS IB on 3 December 1999. Helios IA is still in operation.

HELIOS II
The HELIOS II programme ensures the continuity of the HELIOS I programme with enhanced resolution in the visible and offer a new capacity on IR regions. EADS Astrium was prime contractor for these second generation military reconnaissance satellites.

The Helios IIA satellite has been launched from Kourou, French Guiana in December 2004. The Helios IIB satellite will be ready in early 2006 for a launch expected at the end of 2008.

EADS Astrium has developed the User Ground Component (UGC) of the HELIOS II satellites. This new UGC entered in service in 2005 in all the partner countries (Spain, Belgium, Italy), to exploit the capacities of the HELIOS II satellites.

EADS Astrium also participates in the French MoD's effort to allow the French armed forces to use the various reconnaissance systems of their Italian and German partners.

PLEIADES
CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales) awarded in 2003 EADS-Astrium a contract to build two Pleiades satellites offering high resolution optical images..

The first satellite will be launched mid-2008 and the second in 2009. The two satellites will form a constellation in Sun-synchronous orbit.

EADS Astrium has developed the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), with ERS 1 and    ERS 2. EADS Astrium is also in charge of the ASAR for the ENVISAT mission, a new generation of active antenna radar.

TerraSAR-X
High resolution SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) offers a wide range of commercial opportunities. EADS Astrium is prime contractor for TerraSAR-X as a market-derived high resolution SAR land monitoring system, which provides data and geo-information services of unprecedented quality. This 1-ton satellite will be launched in 2006.

MicroSAR
MicroSAR is an innovative, agile, low cost, highly versatile X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar spacecraft currently under development by EADS Astrium. MicroSAR’s radical design configuration provides a rigid highly stable platform carrying a large planar phased array antenna which is twice the stowed length of the spacecraft. Mechanical steering of the whole satellite allows major beam pointing of ± 45°, giving visibility to both the left and the right of the nadir track.

EADS Astrium a développé un démonstrateur d'écoute dénommé Essaim. Le système est constitué de quatre micro-satellites (classe 100-150 Kg), dont le lancement a eu lieu en décembre 2004 depuis la base de Kourou en Guyane, ainsi que de sa composante sol d’utilisation.

Le système d’alerte avancée
Afin de préparer un futur programme opérationnel de système d’alerte avancée à l’échelle européenne, la DGA a décidé de réaliser un démonstrateur spatial pour lequel EADS Astrium propose le système Spirale à base de micro-satellites.

EADS Astrium est maître d’œuvre de ce programme et fournira un démonstrateur spatial d’alerte avancée pour un futur système d’alerte avancée opérationel. EADS Astrium dépend d’EADS SPACE Transportation pour la modélisation et la simulation des missiles balistiques.

EADS Astrium has developed a demonstrator called Essaim. This system comprises four micro-satellites (class 100-150 kg), and it has been launched in December 2004, with their associated ground segment.

Early warning system
EADS Astrium is the prime contractor for this programme and will supply a space-based optical early warning demonstrator for a future early warning operational system.. EADS Astrium relies on EADS SPACE Transportation for modelisation and simulation of ballistic missile.

Bringing space services to the customer:

As the European “one-stop-shop” provider for milsatcom services, EADS SPACE Services meets its customers’ requirements with innovative and highly competitive end-to-end solutions. This includes services such as provision of satellite capacity, terminal leasing, VSAT networks and “Welfare” services. For cost efficiency, the offer also includes the use of 3rd party networks such as Iridium, Globalstar, Inmarsat, commercial Fixed Satellite Services operators as well as terrestrial fibre.

in UK
Paradigm Secure Communications is the exclusive provider of all end-to-end beyond line of sight telecom services for the British Ministry of Defence (MoD). Within the Skynet 5 Private Finance Initiative (PFI) programme, it has achieved a key ‘In Service Date’ (ISD) milestone in February 2005.

This was the first and most challenging milestone since Paradigm signed the £2.5bn (€3.6bn) 15 year contract. This milestone requires a major upgrade of UK Satellite Ground Station facilities and the introduction of new service management processes. The upgraded system including new terminals and network control centre can support a full range of modern communications services.

Under the terms of the innovative Skynet 5 deal, Paradigm can also deliver military and government communications services to other customers. To date Paradigm has signed agreements to provide resilient, secure military satellites services to a number of countries and organisations including a 15 year deal for NATO.

in Germany
In a similar spirit, German Bundeswehr (Bw) expressed a growing need for secure communications in out-of-area missions. EADS SPACE Services has replied to a bid to supply secured capacity and satellite network operations to Bw, and was recently selected as preferred bidder. In addition to the infrastructure, the programme covers control of the space segment and provision of commercial satellite capacity.

in France
EADS SPACE Services has been selected by the French Ministry of Defence in the frame of its ASTEL-S contract to meet ever-increasing armed forces’ requirements for secure satellite communications capacity, to complement existing national resources. This rapid-response, global service will be available on demand, for land, sea and air applications.

Galileo will provide worldwide positioning signals allowing open use as well as encrypted and protected service augmentations, together with a self-monitoring “integrity” feature. EADS SPACE Services is a major contributor to the consortium bidding for the role of concessionaire under a joint European Union / European Space Agency request for proposal.

EADS is therefore leading the trend in offering satellite services to authorities by implementing schemes, which optimally match their requirements to serve their countries.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, delivery vehicles and their technologies has significantly increased the ballistic threat to the nations of Europe affecting not only the exercise of their international responsibilities but also directly menacing their home territory.

EADS and its constituent parts have skills and technologies in all areas of anti-missile defence: ballistic warfare, system engineering and integration threat knowledge, battle management command, control and communications [BMC3], sensors (infra-red and radar) and interceptors.

EADS, which taken as a whole has no equal in Europe in ballistic missile protection, has decided to grow its business in exo-atmospheric defence, to match changes in the threat. Its skills and global dimension will enable it to be both a major player and a credible party in balanced international co-operation.

an Early Warning capability
Space-based early warning systems are the only means to provide a worldwide and permanent capability to detect, localize and characterize all flight tests and many ground tests of ballistic missiles. Indeed, the very hot plume generated by the exhaust of ballistic missiles is visible in infra red against the earth background.

In France, the Government Armament Agency (DGA) has awarded EADS Astrium a contract for the design and production of a space based optical early warning system demonstrator. The demonstrator called SPIRALE (Système Préparatoire Infra-Rouge pour l'Alerte) covers the supply and operation of a complete system collecting and analyzing infrared imagery against the earth background, in order to demonstrate the ability to detect ballistic missiles during their boost phase.

Although major developments are under way in the field of endo-atmospheric defence, it must be recognised that, currently, no significant effort is being made in exo-atmospheric defence, in contrast to the situation in the United States under the Missile Defense programme, which is due to result in the deployment of an initial operational capability [IOC] in 2005.

Once ballistic missiles have a range greater than approximately 1000 km, they must be intercepted in space.

Defence against these missiles requires first of all satellite early warning, with detection and tracking radars, coupled with long-range interceptors with a discrimination and long range acquisition capability, offering protection over an extended envelope.

To prepare itself for exo-atmospheric defence, Europe should develop a demonstration programme in which it would amalgamate its skills and technologies, and validate these through system trials. These demonstrations, proposed by EADS SPACE Transportation would also have the merit of contributing to the development of strategic activities in the space and defence areas, taking into account their dual nature.

EADS has the skills, the technologies and the global dimension to surmount these challenges.

Space surveillance involves detecting, tracking, cataloguing orbital objects. Whilst our economy and security are increasingly relying on space assets, it is strategic to monitor the near-earth environment to safeguard these assets, verify treaty application, assess other nations’capabilities, recognize threatening/hostile objects and provide up-to-date situation (satellite fly-over, re-entering spacecraft, etc). Space surveillance is becoming of increasing importance because of the proliferation of ballistic missiles, space technologies, space debris, the emergence of new threats and the trend to weaponize space.

Although numerous political measures have been taken, proliferation of ballistic missiles could not be stopped but can only be slowed down.

Range of land-based ballistic missiles increased much faster than foreseen, since stage separation is mastered now even by countries like North Korea and Pakistan. In a few years the range of ballistic missiles will be in the order of 6000 km.

Exo-atmospheric interception has the advantage that ballistic missile intercept is possible at large range (>3000 km) and before the multiple warheads are in the terminal phase

EADS SPACE Transportation has been a major partner in the different feasibility studies in NATO for ballistic missile defense since 2001.

It’s a must to maintain the technology competences and capabilities in the space sector if Europe wants to guarantee adequate security to its citizens; R&D has to be developed to avoid a technology gap with the USA.

Europe needs a strong and competitive defence industry in support of European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). Space assets enable Europe to face all sorts of European security and defence issues and constitute therefore a key to European sovereignty.

EADS offers a strong industrial and technological base and a wide range of applications to achieve these goals.


EADS SPACE, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems. In 2004, EADS SPACE had a turnover of €2.6 billion and 11,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain. It has three main subsidiaries: EADS SPACE Transportation, for launchers and orbital infrastructure, EADS Astrium for satellites and ground segment and EADS SPACE Services to develop and deliver satellite services.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services.

In 2004, EADS generated revenues of €31.8 billion and employed a workforce of more than 110,000.

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS N.V.
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