European Union Boosts Space Spending Amid US Reliance

The European Union plans to create a ‘Space Shield’ program as part of its readiness roadmap. ESA will fund development of space-based ISR technologies in support of this effort. Germany and Spain have pledged significant funds for space security, with Berlin aiming to overtake France as the dominant player. Poland is joining the ERS effort with an unspecified contribution. The EU’s goal is to provide all member states with remote sensing data as a service through the Earth Observation Governmental Service (EOGS).