US, France Conduct Joint Space Domain Awareness Operation

U.S. Space Command has conducted a second bilateral space domain awareness operation with France, according to SPACECOM Commander Gen. Stephen Whiting.  

“We recently executed another successful bilateral operation on orbit with France under [Multinational Force Operation Olympic Defender], demonstrating responsible dynamic space operations and reinforcing our shared resolve,” Whiting said Dec. 11 at the Spacepower Conference in Orlando, Fla.  

“Our satellites are targeted, tracked, jammed, cybered, and challenged every day,” Whiting said. “Just as soldiers train to fight through artillery, pilots train to fight in contested skies and sailors train to survive battle damage, space is simply the newest front where warfighting resilience is required.” 

The mission follows a similar joint U.S.-France rendezvous and proximity operation in geosynchronous orbit in late 2024. SPACECOM also conducted an RPO mission with the United Kingdom in September.  

In a statement issued Dec. 14, France’s Space Command said the operation demonstrates the two countries’ commitment to joint maneuver in orbit.  

“This illustrates France’s ability to conduct dynamic and responsible operations to discourage adversaries from acting against its space interests,” the command said, according to a translation of the statement.  

Multinational Force Operation Olympic Defender, or MNF-OOD, is a partnership between seven countries to better integrate space operations and data sharing between allies. Operation Olympic Defender was initially formed under U.S. Strategic Command in 2013, and in 2020 expanded into a multinational partnership between the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. Germany and France joined in 2024, and New Zealand in 2025.  

The countries declared MNF-OOD operational in April of this year after achieving five objectives:

Establishing collective concepts for space domain awareness;
Agreeing to a combined operational framework;
Determining a defined scope of national space input to the organization;
Crafting a plan to synchronize communication between partner nations; and
Approving an initial campaign plan in April.  

Whiting said operating with allies shows that the countries’ commitment is “more than words.”  

“We are strengthening Multinational Force Operation Olympic Defender, transforming it from a partnership into an integrated operational team that plans, trains, and executes shoulder to shoulder,” he said.  

The bilateral operation is an example of U.S. SPACECOM’s efforts to better integrate the space capabilities of allies and also its sister services, Whiting said. The coming 2026 will be the command’s “year of integration,” he promised, “the year we operationalize a true team approach to space warfare.”