HCSS Director Tim Sweijs on Space Lessons from Ukraine at SmallSat Europe 2026 (hcss.nl)

• Commercial space assets now integral to battlefield communications, intelligence, and targeting in Ukraine.
• Dependency on single providers (e.g., Starlink) creates strategic vulnerabilities, warns Sweijs.
• Europe lacks a consensus on what technological sovereignty in space means operationally.
• Russia-China space alignment poses new challenges for Western deterrence and collective strategy.

"At SmallSat Europe 2026, HCSS Director of Research Tim Sweijs discussed how the Ukraine war has transformed the role of commercial space capabilities in modern warfare, highlighting both their critical contributions and the strategic dependencies they create. Sweijs warned of risks from relying on single providers, states, or billionaires, and argued Europe needs a resilient, diversified, and sovereign space architecture. The panel also noted increased Russia-China space cooperation and the need for updated deterrence strategies."