European autonomy in space: Space systems as a pillar of European defence

Juliana Süß

No 2/2026, SWP Comments from Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), German Institute for International and Security Affairs

Abstract: Space capabilities are a core element of any modern defence arsenal. In Europe, however, military space capabilities are limited and dependence on the United States remains high. Europe must develop its capabilities in order to reduce dependencies and enhance its capacity to act on its own, thereby fostering European autonomy. To ensure that European space capabilities are developed efficiently, it is necessary to identify which dependencies on the US are particularly critical and which obstacles would hinder the development of such capabilities. Priority should be given to space situational awareness, military reconnaissance, navigation resilience and missile early warning.

Keywords: Space capabilities; United States; Europe; European Space Agency (ESA); Starlink; dependency; space situational awareness; satellite communication; Intelligence; Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR); Positioning; Navigation and Timing (PNT); early warning; nflict; Russia; NATO (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:swpcom:335919

DOI: 10.18449/2026C02

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