Direction générale de l'armement
The French Armament General Directorate (DGA) is the French government's defense procurement agency. It plays a crucial role in developing and managing military space capabilities, including Earth observation, communications, and space surveillance systems. The DGA collaborates with the Space Command (CDE), CNES, Thales Alenia Space, and Airbus Defence and Space on programs like MUSIS and IRIS to enhance France's space-based intelligence and military operations. Keywords associated with DGA include space defense, military satellites, space situational awareness, and strategic autonomy.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
France’s 10-year framework agreement with the DGA covers priority access to capacity on Eutelsat’s OneWeb constellation.
EREMS supplied key elements for Airbus Defence and Space’s CO3D and Pléiades Neo constellations, the French Armed Forces’ CERES constellation, and ESA’s Earth Return Orbiter.
The French military will use OneWeb until Iris2 is deployed.
Eutelsat signed a 1 billion euro, 10-year contract with the French Ministry of Defence last summer.
Infinite Orbits holds a contract with the Direction Générale de l'Armement of the French Ministry of Defense to deploy Orbit Guard for detection of threats to French military infrastructure.
In 2025 Infinite Orbits signed an agreement with the French Directorate General for Armament to provide Orbit Guard spacecraft to monitor threats to French military assets.
Thales Alenia Space has been contracted by the French space agency (CNES) in collaboration with the French Armed Forces' General Directorate of Armament (DGA) for the Desir program.
The DESIR program is being conducted on behalf of the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) to foster a sovereign national radar imaging value chain for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications.
The DGA’s International Defence Companies Notebook 2026, published in December 2025, lists DESIR as having been entrusted to Loft Orbital in June 2025.
A synthetic-aperture radar satellite will allow the French military to monitor the Earth’s surface 24/7.
The SAR payload will enable persistent, all-weather, day-and-night surveillance of strategic areas of interest for the French military.
Loft Orbital secured a nearly €50 million (approximately $58.6 million) contract from the French military to deliver France’s first sovereign synthetic-aperture radar capability.
Under the agreement, the encrypted data downlink and tasking commands will be managed exclusively by French military personnel.
Eutelsat’s new OneWeb satellites could carry hosted payloads for the French military.
This award builds on Airbus’s expanding role in French military space and ground segment architecture.
The capability from the new AI modules is expected to be critical for managing complex electromagnetic environments where the French military operates.
ArianeGroup is also contracted by the DGA to develop the V-MAX hypersonic glider.
The PALADIN initiative aims to monitor and counter direct threats to French military assets in space.
In 2020, the DGA awarded HyPrSpace a €90,000 contract to visually simulate the launch of a surface-to-air missile by generating a smoke trail.
In August, the French Directorate General of Armament awarded Infinite Orbits a €50 million framework contract to deliver an Orbit Guard inspection spacecraft as part of France’s PALADIN initiative.