Loft Orbital Selected as a Prime Contractor for France’s First Space-Based Radar Imaging Program

Loft Orbital, a space infrastructure company that provides simple, fast, and reliable ways to deploy missions to low Earth orbit, led by Pierre-Damien Vaujour, Alex Greenberg, Antoine de Chassy, and others, has announced a notification by the French Space Agency (CNES) and the Directorate General of Armaments / DGA of a contract for the development and operation of the DESIR program (Sovereign Radar Imaging Elements Demonstration).

The program seeks to establish France’s first sovereign space-based radar imaging (SAR) capability, marking a key step in building a national radar imaging value chain and strengthening strategic autonomy for defense and security applications.

Leading the DESIR program alongside Thales Alenia Space and TEKEVER France marks a turning point, demonstrating that standardized new-space infrastructure can meet sovereign needs and that startups can act as prime contractors alongside major defense firms on complex government satellite programs.

With all-weather, day-and-night data collection, SAR imaging enables continuous intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, while also supporting disaster response, maritime monitoring, and environmental applications.

Loft has been appointed prime contractor for France’s sovereign space radar imaging program, leading a consortium with Thales Alenia Space and TEKEVER France. The project keeps critical radar technologies and IP under French control and aligns with DGA and French Space Command initiatives to build a more agile defense space ecosystem, reinforcing Loft’s role as a strategic partner for national sovereign capabilities.

The DESIR program will use Loft’s end-to-end mission services and Longbow satellite platform, leveraging a proven industrial model with heritage from the OneWeb constellation. This standardized infrastructure ensures cost control, schedule reliability, and rapid deployment of sovereign space capabilities. Initial operations are targeted for early 2029, highlighting the viability of a New Space–inspired approach for sovereign defense requirements.

The program underscores government trust in Loft’s role in sovereign space capability development. Loft’s Orbitworks joint venture with Marlan Space strengthens domestic space capacity and technology transfer, while the growing maturity of Europe’s New Space ecosystem enables companies like Loft to deliver end-to-end services for emerging national space programs.