Mission

Achieving operational high-speed access

Athena-Fidus has provided French defence with military Ka band capability since early 2014. This technological leap provides global coverage (for drone operation, particularly in transit phases), a coverage of metropolitan France which includes maritime approaches, as well as five mobile “spots” of 1,750 km in diameter, allowing to cover up to 5 areas depending on operational needs. The satellite and its payload are designed for a 15-year operational lifetime.

IIllustration: Athena-Fidus coverage areas
© CNES/ill./DUCROS David, 2013

In addition to the satellite, the programme also provides French national defence with a ground segment of around 660 Athena-Fidus-compatible ground stations. The objective of this ground segment is threefold: to ensure the Descartes project (the Socrates project’s successor) maintains its strategic core, to establish connections between commands deployed in foreign theatres and to provide service for isolated sites. The first stations were expected for 2014 to coincide with the satellite’s operational launch.