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France Invests €50M in First Sovereign Radar Satellite

1/22/2026

Summary

Story summary

France contracted Loft Orbital for a €50 million project to develop its first sovereign synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite under the DESIR program.
The satellite will use Loft's Longbow platform to provide all-weather SAR surveillance.
Thales Alenia Space and TEKEVER France are partnering on the effort.
The project will maintain independent reconnaissance with data kept on French systems and no routing through foreign servers, slated for mid-2029.

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Story summary

France contracted Loft Orbital for a €50 million project to develop its first sovereign synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite under the DESIR program.
The satellite will use Loft's Longbow platform to provide all-weather SAR surveillance.
Thales Alenia Space and TEKEVER France are partnering on the effort.
The project will maintain independent reconnaissance with data kept on French systems and no routing through foreign servers, slated for mid-2029.