Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BERLIN601
2009-05-20 16:50:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Berlin
Cable title:
GERMAN COMPANY MARKETING SATELLITE IMAGERY TO US DESPITE FRENCH OPPOSITION
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 000601
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/CE PETER SCHROEDER
STATE FOR ISN/MDSP DICK BUENNEKE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2034
TAGS: ETTC, PGOV, PINR, MCAP, PREL, TSPA, FR, KZ, AE, TU, GM
SUBJECT: GERMAN COMPANY MARKETING SATELLITE IMAGERY TO US
DESPITE FRENCH OPPOSITION
REF: A. BERLIN 181
B. BERLIN 561
C. 08 BERLIN 1575
D. 08 BERLIN 1537
Classified By: Global Affairs Unit Chief Don L. Brown for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 000601
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/CE PETER SCHROEDER
STATE FOR ISN/MDSP DICK BUENNEKE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2034
TAGS: ETTC, PGOV, PINR, MCAP, PREL, TSPA, FR, KZ, AE, TU, GM
SUBJECT: GERMAN COMPANY MARKETING SATELLITE IMAGERY TO US
DESPITE FRENCH OPPOSITION
REF: A. BERLIN 181
B. BERLIN 561
C. 08 BERLIN 1575
D. 08 BERLIN 1537
Classified By: Global Affairs Unit Chief Don L. Brown for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (C) SUMMARY: Germany's plans to develop a space-based
High Resolution Optical System (HiROS) capability by 2013
stand to challenge France's dominance of European space-based
electro-optical (EO) collection. The German portion of EADS
Astrium (Friedrichshafen),in a Public Private Partnership
(PPP) with the German Space Agency (DLR),is co-developing
HiROS and sees an opportunity to market HiROS, as well as
space-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) products, to the
US market. According to an Astrium-Friedrichshafen official,
the Government of France (GoF) will use its influence in
Astrium -- as the majority share holder -- to halt
development of HiROS in order to protect French commercial EO
ambitions. Astrium-Friedrichshafen/DLR are actively courting
USG support for HiROS as a potential counter to French HiROS
opposition and are proposing a June meeting in Washington
with USG officials for further discussion. END SUMMARY
GERMANY DEVELOPING HIROS DESPITE FRENCH OPPOSITION
-------------- --------------
2. (C) On 28 January 2009, Dr. Andreas Eckardt, DLR Head of
Optical Sensors and Electronics, told EconOff that absolutely
no cooperation with France nor any other EU country is
planned for the HiROS project, but that he saw cooperation
with the US firm Digital Globe (DG) as a real possibility.
According to Eckardt, Germany has wanted to embark on
European Space Agency (ESA) projects in the past to help
develop an indigenous high-resolution EO competency, but were
always outmaneuvered by the French (Thales
Alenia/Astrium-Toulouse) in the bidding process, citing
"financial subsidies from the French government." In
addition, Eckardt insinuated that Astrium-Toulouse and Thales
Alenia have taken pains to ensure that sensitive EO
technology stays in France. For these reasons, as Eckardt
explained, Germany has been pushed into a corner by France
and left little choice but to "go it alone within the EU" if
they wish to break from foreign dependence on EO imagery - an
apparent priority for the German government.
3. (C) Thomas Walati, Astrium-Friedrichshafen sales
associate and DLR consultant, echoed Eckardt's sentiments in
an Embassy meeting on May 5, adding that Paris has directly
instructed Astrium-Friedrichshafen to stop the HiROS program.
Walati said that the French see HiROS as a direct competitor
with Pleiades, a French/Italian combination EO/radar
commercial satellite system scheduled for launch at the
beginning of 2010. Walati said &the French are using all
available means8 to kill HiROS, speculating that their main
weapon may be an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
between France Thales and Astrium, establishing Thales as the
prime contractor for EO satellite payloads. In addition,
Walati said that the French-influenced Astrium
firing/reassignment of Astrium-Friedrichshafen employees is a
common tactic the GoF uses to ensure certain technologies
stay within France.
FENDING OFF THE FRENCH
--------------
4. (C) Without going into details, Walati claimed that a
German/US cooperative agreement on HiROS would fend off the
French opposition. He stressed that the French seek to
monopolize the world market for commercial EO imagery and
that a German/American alliance on HiROS would be vital to
ward off a French EO commercial takeover.
FRANCE SWEETENS THE DEAL
--------------
BERLIN 00000601 002 OF 003
5. (C) Walati said Paris continues to "subsidize" French
firms, bids to sell French imagery and/or complete satellite
systems and are offering prospective customers "incentive
packages." As an example, Walati claimed that the French are
poised to win a bid to sell the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
two 50-centimeter resolution EO satellites, beating out a US
contractor bid with a complex "sweetened deal" that would
involve deploying 1,000 French troops to the UAE. According
to Walati, the French troops would carry with them "defense
equipment" that they would simply "leave behind in the UAE"
when they return to France (NFI). Walati added that the
French recently won a bid to supply Kazakhstan firm,
Kazakhstan Gharysh Sapary, with two "earth-observation
satellites" to be built by Astrium-Toulouse/Thales) and are
working on a similar deal with the government of Turkey. He
said the French are targeting the US market next. Walati
opined that France's recent re-engagement with NATO was part
of a strategy to gain increased market access for French
satellite equipment and derived data.
EFFECT ON THE EU DEFENSE SATELLITE CONSORTIUM "MUSIS"
-------------- --------------
6. (C) Germany,s development of an autonomous HiROS system
could reduce their need to participate in the Multinational
Space-Based Imaging System (MUSIS). In Walati's words, "if
HiROS goes though, the significance of MUSIS will vanish."
(COMMENT: MUSIS is an EU consortium including Germany,
France, Italy, Belgium, and Spain that is designed to share
costs of space assets and to combine space imagery
competencies through an imagery sharing agreement. END
COMMENT) On the other hand, Walati said that the French are
huge supporters of MUSIS, as it would further establish
France as the primary supplier of EO imagery to the EU. When
asked how the French would view HiROS development and its
implications on MUSIS, Eckardt said "As you know, the French
already have a SAR system developed, they just need to launch
it."
DLR/ASTRIUM LOOKING TO THE US FOR POSSIBLE PARTNERSHIP
-------------- --------------
7. (C) Eckardt and Dr. Cornelia Riess, DLR Head of
International Cooperation, said that DLR is pressing forward
in Phase B of the HiROS project and is looking toward US
industry as a potential partner. Eckardt and Walati said
that the US is seen as the only viable international partner
for HiROS and underscored their trust in the US, respect for
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) as the deciding factor.
According to a DG official, DG is also interested in
collaborative research with DLR on HiROS product development,
particularly in the area of three-dimensional (3D)
visualization. They envision this as a way to augment DG's
current and future generations of EO constellations,
WorldView-1 and WorldView-2. (COMMENT: 3D visualization is a
unique capability that DLR is developing, processing three
simultaneous look-angles from HiROS at the same geographic
location to create three dimensional images. END COMMENT)
ASTRIUM'S SALES PITCH TO THE U.S.
--------------
8. (C) If German/American cooperation can be worked out on
HiROS, Walati envisions that Astrium-Friedrichshafen/DLR
would build three satellites with a US company such as DG,
purchasing an additional three satellites with a price tag of
about 100 million euro per satellite - to be delivered on
orbit. Walati then offered the possibility of combining
these systems to form a co-financed six-satellite
constellation (to achieve higher revisit rate),in which both
countries would task their own satellites but the imagery
could be shared. Walati extended this idea to include a
similar German/American collaboration procuring Infoterra (an
Astrium-Friedrichshafen subsidiary)- sourced SAR satellites.
Walati said that any satellite system the US would purchase
from Germany would need to be manufactured in Germany and
emphasized that, unlike France, Germany is open to using US
BERLIN 00000601 003 OF 003
components and not/not aiming for an International Traffic in
Arms Regulations (ITAR)-free design. Walati expressed a
desire to organize a meeting between DLR and USG officials in
Washington in June 2009 to discuss US equities/interest in:
A) Astrium SAR X- and L-band satellites, B) HiROS, and C)
German 3D hardware/software products for use with EO and/or
radar data.
COMMENT
--------------
9. (C) Although HiROS is not yet a funded program,
Astrium-Friedrichshafen and DLR are aggressively marketing it
with the goal of a completed system by 2013 for two primary
reasons: to compete commercially with the French and to take
advantage of a one year overlap with Germany's TanDEM-X radar
mission (SEE REF A). Astrium and DLR realize that the 2013
schedule is ambitious and see a partnership with DG as a
logical, risk-mitigating step to speed development, control
cost, and secure financing. It is also notable that,
although many counties were considered for collaboration on
HiROS, DLR only felt comfortable reaching out to the US.
Koenig
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/CE PETER SCHROEDER
STATE FOR ISN/MDSP DICK BUENNEKE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2034
TAGS: ETTC, PGOV, PINR, MCAP, PREL, TSPA, FR, KZ, AE, TU, GM
SUBJECT: GERMAN COMPANY MARKETING SATELLITE IMAGERY TO US
DESPITE FRENCH OPPOSITION
REF: A. BERLIN 181
B. BERLIN 561
C. 08 BERLIN 1575
D. 08 BERLIN 1537
Classified By: Global Affairs Unit Chief Don L. Brown for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (C) SUMMARY: Germany's plans to develop a space-based
High Resolution Optical System (HiROS) capability by 2013
stand to challenge France's dominance of European space-based
electro-optical (EO) collection. The German portion of EADS
Astrium (Friedrichshafen),in a Public Private Partnership
(PPP) with the German Space Agency (DLR),is co-developing
HiROS and sees an opportunity to market HiROS, as well as
space-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) products, to the
US market. According to an Astrium-Friedrichshafen official,
the Government of France (GoF) will use its influence in
Astrium -- as the majority share holder -- to halt
development of HiROS in order to protect French commercial EO
ambitions. Astrium-Friedrichshafen/DLR are actively courting
USG support for HiROS as a potential counter to French HiROS
opposition and are proposing a June meeting in Washington
with USG officials for further discussion. END SUMMARY
GERMANY DEVELOPING HIROS DESPITE FRENCH OPPOSITION
-------------- --------------
2. (C) On 28 January 2009, Dr. Andreas Eckardt, DLR Head of
Optical Sensors and Electronics, told EconOff that absolutely
no cooperation with France nor any other EU country is
planned for the HiROS project, but that he saw cooperation
with the US firm Digital Globe (DG) as a real possibility.
According to Eckardt, Germany has wanted to embark on
European Space Agency (ESA) projects in the past to help
develop an indigenous high-resolution EO competency, but were
always outmaneuvered by the French (Thales
Alenia/Astrium-Toulouse) in the bidding process, citing
"financial subsidies from the French government." In
addition, Eckardt insinuated that Astrium-Toulouse and Thales
Alenia have taken pains to ensure that sensitive EO
technology stays in France. For these reasons, as Eckardt
explained, Germany has been pushed into a corner by France
and left little choice but to "go it alone within the EU" if
they wish to break from foreign dependence on EO imagery - an
apparent priority for the German government.
3. (C) Thomas Walati, Astrium-Friedrichshafen sales
associate and DLR consultant, echoed Eckardt's sentiments in
an Embassy meeting on May 5, adding that Paris has directly
instructed Astrium-Friedrichshafen to stop the HiROS program.
Walati said that the French see HiROS as a direct competitor
with Pleiades, a French/Italian combination EO/radar
commercial satellite system scheduled for launch at the
beginning of 2010. Walati said &the French are using all
available means8 to kill HiROS, speculating that their main
weapon may be an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
between France Thales and Astrium, establishing Thales as the
prime contractor for EO satellite payloads. In addition,
Walati said that the French-influenced Astrium
firing/reassignment of Astrium-Friedrichshafen employees is a
common tactic the GoF uses to ensure certain technologies
stay within France.
FENDING OFF THE FRENCH
--------------
4. (C) Without going into details, Walati claimed that a
German/US cooperative agreement on HiROS would fend off the
French opposition. He stressed that the French seek to
monopolize the world market for commercial EO imagery and
that a German/American alliance on HiROS would be vital to
ward off a French EO commercial takeover.
FRANCE SWEETENS THE DEAL
--------------
BERLIN 00000601 002 OF 003
5. (C) Walati said Paris continues to "subsidize" French
firms, bids to sell French imagery and/or complete satellite
systems and are offering prospective customers "incentive
packages." As an example, Walati claimed that the French are
poised to win a bid to sell the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
two 50-centimeter resolution EO satellites, beating out a US
contractor bid with a complex "sweetened deal" that would
involve deploying 1,000 French troops to the UAE. According
to Walati, the French troops would carry with them "defense
equipment" that they would simply "leave behind in the UAE"
when they return to France (NFI). Walati added that the
French recently won a bid to supply Kazakhstan firm,
Kazakhstan Gharysh Sapary, with two "earth-observation
satellites" to be built by Astrium-Toulouse/Thales) and are
working on a similar deal with the government of Turkey. He
said the French are targeting the US market next. Walati
opined that France's recent re-engagement with NATO was part
of a strategy to gain increased market access for French
satellite equipment and derived data.
EFFECT ON THE EU DEFENSE SATELLITE CONSORTIUM "MUSIS"
-------------- --------------
6. (C) Germany,s development of an autonomous HiROS system
could reduce their need to participate in the Multinational
Space-Based Imaging System (MUSIS). In Walati's words, "if
HiROS goes though, the significance of MUSIS will vanish."
(COMMENT: MUSIS is an EU consortium including Germany,
France, Italy, Belgium, and Spain that is designed to share
costs of space assets and to combine space imagery
competencies through an imagery sharing agreement. END
COMMENT) On the other hand, Walati said that the French are
huge supporters of MUSIS, as it would further establish
France as the primary supplier of EO imagery to the EU. When
asked how the French would view HiROS development and its
implications on MUSIS, Eckardt said "As you know, the French
already have a SAR system developed, they just need to launch
it."
DLR/ASTRIUM LOOKING TO THE US FOR POSSIBLE PARTNERSHIP
-------------- --------------
7. (C) Eckardt and Dr. Cornelia Riess, DLR Head of
International Cooperation, said that DLR is pressing forward
in Phase B of the HiROS project and is looking toward US
industry as a potential partner. Eckardt and Walati said
that the US is seen as the only viable international partner
for HiROS and underscored their trust in the US, respect for
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) as the deciding factor.
According to a DG official, DG is also interested in
collaborative research with DLR on HiROS product development,
particularly in the area of three-dimensional (3D)
visualization. They envision this as a way to augment DG's
current and future generations of EO constellations,
WorldView-1 and WorldView-2. (COMMENT: 3D visualization is a
unique capability that DLR is developing, processing three
simultaneous look-angles from HiROS at the same geographic
location to create three dimensional images. END COMMENT)
ASTRIUM'S SALES PITCH TO THE U.S.
--------------
8. (C) If German/American cooperation can be worked out on
HiROS, Walati envisions that Astrium-Friedrichshafen/DLR
would build three satellites with a US company such as DG,
purchasing an additional three satellites with a price tag of
about 100 million euro per satellite - to be delivered on
orbit. Walati then offered the possibility of combining
these systems to form a co-financed six-satellite
constellation (to achieve higher revisit rate),in which both
countries would task their own satellites but the imagery
could be shared. Walati extended this idea to include a
similar German/American collaboration procuring Infoterra (an
Astrium-Friedrichshafen subsidiary)- sourced SAR satellites.
Walati said that any satellite system the US would purchase
from Germany would need to be manufactured in Germany and
emphasized that, unlike France, Germany is open to using US
BERLIN 00000601 003 OF 003
components and not/not aiming for an International Traffic in
Arms Regulations (ITAR)-free design. Walati expressed a
desire to organize a meeting between DLR and USG officials in
Washington in June 2009 to discuss US equities/interest in:
A) Astrium SAR X- and L-band satellites, B) HiROS, and C)
German 3D hardware/software products for use with EO and/or
radar data.
COMMENT
--------------
9. (C) Although HiROS is not yet a funded program,
Astrium-Friedrichshafen and DLR are aggressively marketing it
with the goal of a completed system by 2013 for two primary
reasons: to compete commercially with the French and to take
advantage of a one year overlap with Germany's TanDEM-X radar
mission (SEE REF A). Astrium and DLR realize that the 2013
schedule is ambitious and see a partnership with DG as a
logical, risk-mitigating step to speed development, control
cost, and secure financing. It is also notable that,
although many counties were considered for collaboration on
HiROS, DLR only felt comfortable reaching out to the US.
Koenig