Germany’s Air Force Says It Is Building Offensive Space Capabilities Out to Geostationary Orbit, and Will Not Rule Out Kinetic Effects

Germany’s top air force officer has said the Bundeswehr is developing offensive capabilities in space that can reach every orbit up to geostationary altitude. He would not rule out kinetic means. At the same event, a defence ministry general described new contracts that pay launch providers to hold capacity in reserve before any payload has been chosen. The general called this approach unusual under Germany’s federal budget rules.

What Was Said at Ottobrunn

The specialist outlet hartpunkt reports that Lieutenant General Holger Neumann, Chief of the Luftwaffe, spoke on 21 October at the third space symposium hosted by the Luftwaffe and IABG in Ottobrunn. He stressed that NATO is a defensive alliance, “but if we are attacked, we will strike back.” He said the aim is effects “in all orbits up to geostationary orbits.” He declined to exclude kinetic effects in space, saying, “We are considering all options.” He added that any such effects would also cover ground stations and transmission links.

Neumann linked these offensive capabilities to GISMO, the German Inspector Satellite for Multiple Operations. hartpunkt reports, citing unnamed sources, that GISMO is a broader effort involving several satellites in different orbits, not a single spacecraft. The outlet also hears from well-informed sources that studies and the development of satellites able to act against other satellites are running at the same time, to save time. Speaking to journalists on the sidelines, however, Neumann described GISMO as a test vehicle with limited operational capability, to be used for training. The Luftwaffe hopes to have it available at the end of 2027. He would not say whether a larger program sits behind it.

Neumann also said Germany will build space forces within the Luftwaffe, with personnel numbers in the thousands. As a first step, seven airmen are training as satellite operators. Another unit will take on responsive space launch, meaning the ability to put satellites into orbit at short notice.

Launch as the Bottleneck

Major General Wolfgang Ohl, a deputy head of the ministry’s armed forces directorate, said the ministry is now signing contracts with companies that guarantee launch capacity. In the past, the satellite manufacturer usually arranged the launch. Under these contracts, providers are paid now, before anyone knows what payload they will carry. Ohl called this a first under the federal budget code and “extremely unusual,” but said “everyone has recognised the signs of the times.” He said Germany is also talking with Norway at government level about converting Andøya Spaceport into a military launch site. He added that the SATCOM Bw Stage 4 constellation contract should be signed in November.

Why It Matters

This analysis is ours, not hartpunkt’s.

The most important change is not any single satellite. It is that Germany is now openly saying it wants the ability to act against an adversary’s satellites, not only to protect its own. The setting makes the point. hartpunkt notes that a Russian satellite recently came within a few metres of an Iceye radar satellite, and Iceye supplies data to the German defence ministry. Once a country’s own sensing depends on commercial constellations, deterring attacks on them requires the ability to impose costs in return.

The paid-in-advance launch contracts may matter more in practice than the offensive language. Europe can build satellites, but it lacks launch capacity. Paying to hold launch slots, and securing a northern launch site that Germany’s allies control, turns space power into a question of mobilisation and readiness. In this model, the ability to replace satellites quickly becomes part of deterrence.