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Germany : GERMAN MOD to share sophisticated satellite data with 35 partner countries
Publish Date : 09-Nov-2015
The German Ministry of Defense (MoD) plans to share sophisticated satellite data with 35 partner countries for defense purpose.
Called Tandem X, the project, costs around EUR 360 million (US $391.3 million) and provides a 3-D image of the Earth that is of high quality and, according to analysts, unprecedented in accuracy.
The elevation model yields key data to military planners preparing for tasks like special forces operations, target designation for bombings or surveillance missions.
The data was received during a several-year-long mission of two German civilian satellites, fitted with synthetic aperture radar.
Washington's pressure is adding urgency to the DoD effort of pushing the procurement of Tandem X through parliament before the end of 2015.
Washington wants the German elevation data in return of its own satellite pictures supplied by the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Germany can access at least 1,000 of these high-resolution pictures per day. These were especially key in foreign operations like those in Afghanistan.
Germany might lose this intelligence source, without Tandem X' approval.
The procurement plan has been discussed in the budget committee of the Bundestag. However, final approval was postponed.
According to sources, it would pass the committee in December.
Sources said most NATO countries plus Australia, Israel, Thailand and some countries in the Middle East will take part in Tandem X. The satellite survey project was created under a public-private partnership between the German Aerospace Center, DLR and Astrium GmbH (now Airbus Defence and Space).
