{"id":185449,"date":"2025-04-15T04:22:41","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T04:22:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/aerospace\/france-risks-falling-behind-in-spaceplane-race\/"},"modified":"2025-04-15T04:22:41","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T04:22:41","slug":"france-risks-falling-behind-in-spaceplane-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=185449","title":{"rendered":"France risks falling behind in spaceplane race"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

As China rehearses space combat tactics and the United States ramps up investment in military space capabilities, France may be sleepwalking into strategic irrelevance in orbit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Speaking before the French National Assembly\u2019s Defense Committee on April 9, 2025, Dassault Aviation CEO \u00c9ric Trappier delivered a blunt assessment on a topic rarely discussed in European defense circles: a spaceplane.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Responding to a question from left-wing member of parliament Bastien Lachaud, who described the lack of a French spaceplane program as \u201ca real gap\u201d and warned of the risk of technological downgrading, Trappier didn\u2019t mince his words: \u201cThere is no spaceplane today. I have the idea in my head. I have the will. But I feel like nobody is interested.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

An overlooked strategic capability?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n

A spaceplane, an aircraft capable of operating both in the atmosphere and in outer space, may still sound like science fiction to some. But for Trappier, it\u2019s clear that other global powers, particularly the United States and China, no longer see it that way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chinese are far ahead. The Americans don\u2019t want the Chinese to take the lead, so they are moving ahead themselves,\u201d he told French lawmakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The underlying message is crystal clear: the race has already started \u2014 and France is nowhere near the starting line.\u00a0<\/p>\n