Faced with persistent armed conflicts on the continent, a rise in cyber threats, and intensifying militarisation of space, Europe can no longer think about its security in silos. Security must now be global, interconnected — and fully European. Confronted with hybrid threats and accelerating global technological competition, the European Union stands at a strategic turning point. It must act swiftly: nurturing new industrial champions, supporting breakthrough innovation, and shaping a common doctrine fit for 21st-century challenges.

This need is now widely acknowledged — as highlighted during the recent Cysat conference (cysat.eu) held in Paris on May 14–15. Opening remarks by Joseph Aschenbacher (Director General of ESA), along with presentations by Massimo Mercati (Head of ESA’s Security OVice), Alessandro Massa (CTIO at Leonardo), Franck Perrin (Cybersecurity Director for Space Programs at Thales), Julien Airaud (Senior Space Cybersecurity Expert at CNES), and others left little room for doubt.

Security Takes on a New Dimension

GPS jamming over the Baltics, anonymous drones overflying submarine cables, spy satellites approaching commercial constellations — the frontline now extends from the ground to orbit. Defence and space form an inseparable strategic continuum: an observation satellite supporting precision agriculture can become a decisive military asset; conversely, defence programs underpin the resilience of digital supply chains. This interconnection demands a new approach: Europe can no longer treat these domains as separate.

Rising Threats, Sovereignty, and Resilience at Stake

European space and defence are on the cusp of a strategic shift. The boundary between civilian and military uses is blurring, driving the rise of “dual-use” technologies: satellites, sovereign telecom networks, detection systems, and observation constellations are becoming critical infrastructure, essential to collective resilience. Only nations that master these strategic assets can truly protect their populations and assert real sovereignty.

Cyberattacks on public administrations are now the primary “market” for cybercriminals. In the space sector, they accounted for only about 6% of incidents in 2024 (according to Franck Perrin of Thales), but that number is climbing. Virtualisation and embedded AI are increasing the software attack surface of satellite payloads and other orbital systems. For example, the 2022 hack of Viasat’s KA-SAT network disrupted Ukrainian military communications. Tomorrow, hijacking a navigation satellite could paralyse an entire port or mislead a naval task force.

Globally, the cost of cybercrime is projected to reach $9.5 trillion in 2024 and $10.5 trillion in 2025 (Cybersecurity Ventures, 2023), up from an estimated $5.5 trillion in 2021 (Cybersecurity Ventures, BD Emerson via Bloomberg) — an alarming trend that highlights the urgency of Europe developing secure, sovereign space and digital infrastructure.

Cooperation to Count Strategically

No single EU member state possesses the budget, talent pool, and industrial base to meet the challenges of the new spatial and security order alone. Pooling orbital capabilities — launches, ground stations, space surveillance — and harmonising cybersecurity rules (akin to the GDPR model for personal data) are now strategic necessities.

But beyond infrastructure, the entire ecosystem must be unified: armed forces, space agencies, energy providers, telecom operators, infrastructure and transport firms must form a single user community. Sharing feedback and building threat scenarios will help define common guidelines, clarify responsibility zones, and strengthen collective anticipation and resilience.

If NATO European members (including Canada) and aligned European states continue their current momentum — including Germany’s €100 billion fund, France’s planned doubling of defence investment, and Poland’s rise to 4.7% of GDP — and sustain a growth rate of around 5% annually, they could collectively raise their defence budgets from $693 billion in 2023 to nearly $1 trillion by 2030. This would bring them within striking distance of the United States, whose military expenditure is projected to reach approximately $1.17 trillion by then. Such convergence would make Europe truly kriegstüchtig — ready for confrontation as a credible deterrent to those who threaten peace in Europe.

Betting on Entrepreneurship to Build Strategic Autonomy

Clearly, answers will not come solely from historical prime contractors. A new generation of deeptech players is emerging, reshaping the contours of technological sovereignty:

  • Cysec (Luxembourg-Switzerland-France) protects orbital data streams with ArcaSatCOM, ArcaSatLINK, and its sovereign OS, ArcaOS.
  • Exotrail (France-USA) is democratising electric satellite propulsion and promises orbital logistics.
  •  LookUp Space (France) detects debris and hostile manoeuvres using multiband radars.
  • ConstellR (Germany) maps soil water stress via thermal imaging — a civilian tool with strategic applications in food security and hotspot monitoring (even underground) now moving into military applications

These startups join European pioneers such as Safran.AI (formerly Preligens), Maïa Space, The Exploration Company, Creotech, Isar Aerospace, Infinite Orbit, Satlantis, OQ Tech, Unseenlabs, D-Orbit, EnduroSat, and many more.

To help these young firms industrialise, Europe must embrace financial ambition:

  • Mobilise venture capital at scale and create well-funded, specialist funds with deep expertise.
  • Fund hypergrowth, open public procurement to innovation, and streamline access to R&D programs.
  • Activate international business networks and provide rapid testing in operational environments.

Building European champions will require bold, patient, and resolutely strategic support.

A Historic Opportunity

The current fragmentation of Europe’s security and space landscape is costly — but not inevitable. By adopting an integral security doctrine and massively investing in entrepreneurial innovation, the European Union and its close allies such as the UK, can foster new leaders to complement — or even challenge — its legacy contractors. Beyond industrial stakes, this concerns the protection of 450 million EU citizens, the development of skilled employment, and above all, the credibility of a political project rooted in technological sovereignty. Entering this new era is not something to declare. It must be programmed, coded, put into orbit — and defended, together. The time to act is now.