As China rehearses space combat tactics and the United States ramps up investment in military space capabilities, France may be sleepwalking into strategic irrelevance in orbit.
Speaking before the French National Assembly’s Defense Committee on April 9, 2025, Dassault Aviation CEO Éric Trappier delivered a blunt assessment on a topic rarely discussed in European defense circles: a spaceplane.
Responding to a question from left-wing member of parliament Bastien Lachaud, who described the lack of a French spaceplane program as “a real gap” and warned of the risk of technological downgrading, Trappier didn’t mince his words: “There is no spaceplane today. I have the idea in my head. I have the will. But I feel like nobody is interested.”
An overlooked strategic capability?
A spaceplane, an aircraft capable of operating both in the atmosphere and in outer space, may still sound like science fiction to some. But for Trappier, it’s clear that other global powers, particularly the United States and China, no longer see it that way.
“The Chinese are far ahead. The Americans don’t want the Chinese to take the lead, so they are moving ahead themselves,” he told French lawmakers.
The underlying message is crystal clear: the race has already started — and France is nowhere near the starting line.
Beyond its technological prowess, a military spaceplane could have several applications:
- deployment or resupply of satellite constellations
- surveillance and intelligence gathering in orbit
- neutralization or destruction of space assets
Trappier was explicit: “The way constellations are supplied, and potentially destroyed, for that matter, is going to be a major issue in the coming years.”
MP Bastien Lachaud echoed this concern: “France cannot afford to fall behind in this field, at the risk of having to buy an off-the-shelf solution or facing technological relegation.”
Will France wake up?
So why has France shown little interest in spaceplane development so far? Trappier pointed to an institutional and budgetary blind spot: “There’s Ariane [Group], there are many important topics, and limited resources…”
This contrasts sharply with developments elsewhere. In March 2025, the US Space Force revealed that China has been carrying out “dogfighting” maneuvers in space: coordinated, synchronized satellite movements designed to simulate orbital combat.
General Michael Guetlein, Deputy Chief of Space Operations at the USSF, described observing five Chinese satellites moving in formation, “practicing tactics, techniques, and procedures to do on-orbit space operations from one satellite to another.”
Meanwhile, the US Air Force and Space Force have been operating the Boeing X-37B, an unmanned reusable spaceplane, for years. Several private projects have also emerged, notably from SpaceX and Sierra Space.
Should France launch its own spaceplane programme immediately? Trappier stopped short of making a direct recommendation but made one thing clear: “We need to keep this in mind. Because space is developing very quickly.”
The militarization of space accelerates
It remains to be seen if Trappier’s message will resonate beyond the walls of the Assemblée nationale. However, this is not the first instance in which French authorities have raised concerns about the security of space.
In 2018, then-Defense Minister Florence Parly asserted that a year earlier, the Luch satellite, also known as Olymp-K, had attempted to spy on the Franco-Italian satellite Athena-Fidus. The Athena-Fidus satellite provides high-speed, secure telecommunications services to the military forces and emergency services of both nations.
At that time, the French Air Force acknowledged that it had identified similar spacecraft approaching French military satellites in 2012, 2013, and 2015.
Vehra: France’s forgotten spaceplane ambition
This is not Dassault Aviation’s first foray into spaceplane concepts. Back in 2000, the company studied the Vehra project (Véhicule Hypersonique Réutilisable Aéroporté, Airborne Reusable Hypersonic Vehicle).
Vehra envisioned a reusable rocket plane capable of suborbital launches, building on Dassault’s involvement in NASA’s X-38 experimental spaceplane program. The concept, however, never materialized.
