Germany has announced plans to invest $41 billion in space defense capabilities to protect its assets on orbit against the growing militarization of space.
The announcement came as German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned that satellite networks are the “Achilles’ heel of modern societies,” noting that an attack on the systems could paralyze nations by taking out GPS, banking and secure military communications.
The German investment will focus on sovereign military capability, according to a November 2025 report from the Rand Corp. research group. The goal is security of supply and fielding solutions faster than multinational European Space Agency or European Union initiatives, like the IRIS2 — the EU’s $12 billion response to U.S.-based Starlink.
As Russia has interfered with satellite connections across eastern Europe during its war with Ukraine, Germany has focused on hardening space assets against hacking and jamming, expanding orbital surveillance systems and investing in “guardian satellites” to protect vulnerable assets, Rand reported. Germany also is exploring offensive capabilities in space and has announced plans for a military satellite operations center.