European defence companies are exploring a space-based weapon that could strike targets anywhere in the world, as NATO allies prepare for the possibility that an increasingly contested orbital environment could become a new front in a conflict with Russia.
The proposed system, known as Precision Orbital Deep Strike (PODS), would launch a conventional missile from an orbiting satellite inside a heat-shielded re-entry vehicle.
Its German developers claim the technology could offer “unlimited global range”, potentially allowing military targets deep inside Russia to be reached from space.
The project is being developed by Atmos Space Cargo, whose chief executive Sebastian Klaus, a former German special forces soldier, shifted the company’s focus from commercial space transportation after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Atmos is now seeking a major defence industry partner, potentially missile manufacturer MBDA, to help scale production and navigate the considerable legal, technical and political obstacles facing the programme.
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A senior European military commander, speaking anonymously, said the technology was being monitored with interest.
“I wouldn’t rule it out,” the commander said. “If you have the re-entry vehicle, then it is just a question of what payload you put in there.”
The concept nevertheless raises questions about the militarisation of space and the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which establishes restrictions on placing weapons of mass destruction in orbit. Analysts have also warned that orbital trajectories can be tracked, potentially making such systems vulnerable to detection and countermeasures.
The development comes amid growing concern that military competition in space could escalate rapidly. Experts have warned that a major conflict involving satellites could emerge within five years, with allied countries already facing daily interference and hostile activity in orbit.
Dr Julia Balm of King’s College London warned that widespread satellite destruction, potentially following a Russian nuclear detonation in space, could have devastating consequences for modern economies.
Damage to orbital infrastructure could disrupt air traffic control, cripple financial systems and undermine essential services, sending modern life “spiralling back to the 19th Century”.
The US military announced in September that it possessed “on-orbit space control weapons”, although it provided no details about the systems involved. Western defence officials widely suspect that Russia and China are pursuing comparable capabilities.
Britain is also accelerating preparations. RAF chief Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth recently accused Moscow of “provocative actions” after Russian satellites reportedly stalked European spacecraft and disrupted GPS signals across Europe and Canada.
He described space as a “war-fighting domain in its own right”, warning that the destruction of British GPS capabilities could delay emergency services and cost the UK economy £1.4bn a day.
The RAF has established No III Space Effects Squadron to protect British orbital assets, with plans for three additional space squadrons and orbital electronic jammers by 2035. British companies including Astroscale and Orbit Fab have also expanded their involvement in Ministry of Defence projects.
The strategic shift is towards more than simply defending satellites against attack. NATO militaries are increasingly considering how to threaten an adversary’s ability to wage war from space and on the ground.
MBDA senior vice-president Guido Brendler has described the emerging philosophy as moving from shooting the arrow to striking the archer and the forge that built it.
PODS remains a developing concept, rather than an operational weapon. But its emergence illustrates how the prospect of conflict with Russia is pushing European defence planners to consider capabilities that until recently belonged largely to science fiction.
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