Russian satellites shadowing our satellites, warns German defence minister

Germany’s defence minister has warned his country’s satellites are being shadowed by Russian satellites.

Boris Pistorius cited concerns over two Luch/Olymp satellites shadowing Intelsat satellites used by German forces and others.

He told a Berlin space conference: “Russia and China have expanded their capabilities for warfare in space rapidly over the past years.

“They can disrupt satellite operations, blind satellites, manipulate or kinetically destroy them.”

The two Russian satellites – launched in 2014 and 2023 – have long been accused of “loitering” and “eavesdropping” on other satellites by stopping nearby to intercept signals.

French space start-up Aldoria said it observed one performing a “sudden close approach” to a satellite in geostationary orbit in May 2024.

The year before, US firm Slingshot Aerospace said it had detected “unfriendly” behaviour – with one of the satellites showing a pattern in which it was stopping near non-Russian satellites.

Geostationary satellites rarely move and usually spend years in the same position.

The German minister stressed it was important to develop offensive capabilities in space as a deterrent to such manoeuvres.

Military analyst Sean Bell said the closest stop observed by one of the Russian satellites was about 10km (6 miles) – very close in space terms.

“Every now again it moves closer to one, then close to another – almost testing, finding out how close it can get,” he told Sky News.

Intelsat operates more than 50 satellites that are used by a range of private companies, as well as government agencies.

The warning comes amid speculation Russia might be behind drones that have disrupted several airports in Denmark this week.

It also follows NATO jets being scrambled last week when Russian jets violated Estonian airspace.