PARIS — France has taken a bold step into near-space defense with the successful interception of high-altitude targets and the unveiling of a comprehensive strategy to secure what officials are calling a new frontier in military operations.
In a groundbreaking test on Monday, a Rafale and a Mirage fighter jet fired MBDA Mica missiles at balloons flying more than 20 kilometers above the Earth, marking France’s first operational move in what the military defines as the “very high altitude” domain — between 20 and 100 kilometers.
French defense officials revealed the results and outlined the broader near-space strategy in a press briefing on Thursday, underscoring concerns over sovereignty, detection capabilities, and the increasing militarization of near-space.
“The goal is to master this segment,” said Brig. Gen. Alexis Rougier, who heads very high altitude operations for the French Air and Space Force. “We need to detect, intercept, and operate at these altitudes.”
The initiative gained urgency after a 2023 incident where a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon crossed over the United States, prompting global concern.
French officials say the geopolitical implications of that episode highlighted the need to control the uppermost layers of national airspace — a region still undefined in international law.
To support these ambitions, France is upgrading its radar infrastructure, including the Thales GM200 and GM400 systems, with artificial intelligence-powered filters capable of identifying complex high-altitude threats.
The country is also investing in early warning systems such as the Nostradamus over-the-horizon radar, a Cold War-era system being retooled for modern threats like hypersonic weapons and stealth aircraft.
Additional funding has been earmarked for the upcoming Odin’s Eye satellite constellation, a European program that will provide space-based detection by 2030.
In parallel, the French military is exploring energy weapons, including a 50-kilowatt ground-based laser intended to neutralize satellites and high-altitude platforms.
Operational capability is also a priority. France is developing high-altitude platforms such as the Stratobus airship and the BalMan maneuverable balloon. Test flights for Airbus’s Zephyr solar-powered drone and BalMan are scheduled for later this year.
In a sign of the program’s growing momentum, the Defense Ministry has signed a €30 million deal with Dassault Aviation to develop “Vortex,” a reusable space-plane demonstrator expected to fly by 2028. The suborbital aircraft aims to reach Mach 12 and could eventually conduct reconnaissance or even strike missions from orbit.
Despite a modest initial budget of €10 million, the strategy is gaining traction and will be increasingly integrated into major defense programs such as the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) and the next-generation SAMP/T air-defense system.
Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu emphasized that France cannot afford to lag behind as it did in drone technology. “There is no question of reliving what we went through with drones,” he warned. “Near-space is now a matter of national sovereignty.”
As space and sky merge in military thinking, France’s push into near-space reflects a growing recognition that future conflicts may be decided far above the battlefield — in the silent expanse just below the stars.
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