Syracuse (french: Système de radiocommunication utilisant un satellite, ''satellite based radiocommunication system'') is a series of French military communications satellites. Syracuse is intended to ensure the French military can communicate between mainland France and military units deployed around the world. The satellite participates in command, reassignment and logistic aspects of operations. The system is nominally under the command of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

, equipping a total of 54 ships (2009) and it is complemented by the Telcomarsat commercial system of communications.

Syracuse 1 to 3

Syracuse 1 and 2 were payloads on joint civilian-military satellite designs developed and operated by the French PTT, and were more commonly known by their civilian names Télécom 1 (3 satellites in 1984, 1985 and 1988) and Télécom 2 (4 satellites in 1991, 1992, 1995 and 1996).

Matra Marconi Space Matra Marconi Space (MMS) was a Franco-British aerospace company. History Matra Marconi Space was established in 1990 as a joint venture between the space and telecommunication divisions of the Lagardère Group ( Matra Espace) and the GEC ...

was a development contractor, who also worked on the British Skynet 4 military communications satellite. In 2006, the programme was awaiting for the third phase, Syracuse-3, to replace Syracuse-2. Syracuse-3 is composed of two satellites developed by the

Direction générale de l'armement The Direction générale de l’armement (DGA; English: Directorate General of Armaments), is the French Government Defence procurement and technology agency responsible for project management, development and purchase of weapon systems for the Fr ...

(DGA), and a third satellite (Sicral-2), developed along with Italy. It is an attempt of the French armed forces to achieve autonomy in terms of satellite communications. Satellites comprising the constellation: * Syracuse-3A (launched 13 October 2005) * Syracuse-3B (launched 11 August 2006) * SICRAL-2 (launched 26 April 2015)

Syracuse 4

In 2018, the

French Ministry of Defence , native_name_a = , native_name_r = , type = Ministry , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , logo = Ministère des Armées.svg , logo_width = 150 , logo_caption = Official logot ...

announced the development of three Syracuse-4 satellites. Two satellites, Syracuse 4A and 4B, were initially ordered, with a third one, Syracuse 4C, that has been added later. Surplus capacity will be sold to armed and security forces in Europe and elsewhere.

Airbus Defence and Space Airbus Defence and Space is the division of Airbus SE responsible for the development and manufacturing of the corporation's defence and space products, while also providing related services. The division was formed in January 2014 during the ...

will supply and operate the satellite ground stations. It was announced in July 2019 that the next generation of Syracuse satellites, Syracuse-4, would have cameras to identify possible attackers. The satellites of the following generations (Syracuse-5) will be equipped with defensive weapons.

Florence Parly Florence Parly (born 8 May 1963) is a French politician who served as Minister of the Armed Forces under President Emmanuel Macron from 2017 to 2022. A former member of the Socialist Party (PS), she previously served as Secretary of State for t ...

, Minister of the Armed Forces, officially signed on 3 September 2019 the decree creating the Space Command (Commandement de l'espace - CDE) within the Air Force, which should eventually become the "Air and Space Army". The first satellite of this family, Syracuse 4A, was launched on 24 October 2021 with an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from the

Guiana Space Centre The Guiana Space Centre (french: links=no, Centre spatial guyanais; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximatel ...

. It was built by

Thales Alenia Space Thales Alenia Space () is a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer. A joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%), the company is the largest satellite manufacture ...

, and has a launch mass of and uses a

plasma propulsion engine A plasma propulsion engine is a type of electric propulsion that generates thrust from a quasi-neutral plasma. This is in contrast with ion thruster engines, which generate thrust through extracting an ion current from the plasma source, which ...

. The second one, Syracuse 4B, is scheduled to be launched in December 2022 or 2023, while the third one is scheduled to be launched by 2025.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Communications satellites Military communications Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Satellites of France Communications satellites of France

Syracuse 1 to 3

Syracuse 4

See also

References