Overview
- European security officials told the Financial Times that Russia’s Luch-1 and Luch-2 spacecraft intercepted communications from at least ten to more than a dozen European satellites.
- Since its 2023 launch, Luch-2 has made 17 close approaches to European satellites tracked by European agencies.
- Officials warn the activity could enable interference with command links and manipulation of satellite trajectories, raising fears of forced maneuvers or crashes.
- The exposed traffic includes sensitive government and some military messages, with one senior official saying the craft align within narrow ground-to-satellite beams to capture unencrypted command data.
- EU initiatives are accelerating in response, including the new Govsatcom program and plans for a dedicated secure military satellite communications system by 2030.