Germany Explores Ground-Based Anti-Satellite Lasers
Germany is examining whether it can field ground-based lasers able to act against satellites. According to Lars Hoffmann’s report in hartpunkt on October 14, 2026, the German Space Agency at DLR has launched a market survey, called “Ilum,” on the European procurement platform TED. The aim is an initial capability within about three years.
Ilum is not a tender but a non-binding request for information. Companies have been asked to set out their capabilities and possible solutions. DLR wants to know which systems are already available or could be developed within a manageable timeframe. A contract notice is expected in January 2027, with initial capability in about 36 months and full capability within six years (hartpunkt).
The requirement is broad. DLR is looking for systems that can engage objects in orbits from 100 to 45,000 kilometers, from low Earth orbit to geostationary altitudes and beyond. It sets out several core functions: temporarily dazzling the optical sensors of reconnaissance satellites (“Deny”), damaging or destroying those sensors (“Degrade” and “Destroy”), affecting other satellite components, and using laser ablation to move space debris. Targets would be assigned using precise orbital data in standard formats, then tracked actively or passively, with verification required to avoid engaging the wrong satellite. The system must also rule out unintended effects on other spacecraft or aircraft in the beam path. DLR is leaving open whether one system or several specialized systems will be chosen (hartpunkt).
Several possible bidders are in view. Rheinmetall and MBDA already cooperate on a naval laser weapon, and observers expect MBDA to have relevant counter-space capabilities. Trumpf and Rohde & Schwarz have teamed up on military lasers, and the start-up INLEAP Photonics is working on counter-drone lasers. Hartpunkt reports that Australia’s EOS Space Systems, which develops and operates systems for space domain awareness, satellite laser ranging and space control, has formed a team with Plath and a third German company to respond (hartpunkt). DLR is also asking about key suppliers, giving it a map of the industrial base behind a future counter-space capability.
The significance lies in the shift in German thinking about space. Germany is moving from treating space as an area to protect toward building the ability to deny an adversary’s use of it. Blinding a reconnaissance satellite over German or allied forces is a reversible, non-debris effect, which makes it a more usable option than a kinetic anti-satellite weapon. It also addresses a real operational problem: adversary satellites tracking allied forces and infrastructure.
The challenge is everything around the laser. Engaging targets out to geostationary range requires precise space domain awareness, reliable target identification and clear rules of engagement. The laser is the visible element. The command, tracking and legal framework will decide whether it becomes a credible capability.
Source: Lars Hoffmann, “DLR sondiert Markt für bodengestützte Anti-Satelliten-Laser,” hartpunkt, October 14, 2026.