France bets on 'Nostradamus' radar to spot missiles

France bets on 'Nostradamus' radar to spot missiles
by AFP Staff Writers
Crucey-Villages, France (AFP) Sept 5, 2025

France's defence ministry is boosting investment in a 1990s radar system, as part of Paris's push to bolster its early warning defences and curb Europe's reliance on the United States.

In a Normandy field pocked with rabbit holes, spindly structures form part of a long-range detection system dubbed Nostradamus, Europe's only "over-the-horizon" radar which can see as far as Moscow.

Developed in 1995, the technology works by bending signals beyond the Earth's curvature, but has long been sidelined.

Now, Nostradamus -- named after the 16th-century French astrologer and reputed seer -- sits at the heart of the country's efforts to reinforce its long-range detection capacity, an area where Paris still depends heavily on Washington.

The push for France to invest in its own surveillance systems comes as US President Donald Trump has made clear he expects Europe to do more for its own security.

The conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza "gave us a lot to think about", said French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu during a trip to the facility on Thursday.

Two incidents underscored the risks Europe is facing, Lecornu said, pointing to a Russian nuclear-capable missile fired at Ukraine in 2024 and ballistic missiles launched from Iran towards Israel at more than 6,000 kilometres (3,700 miles) per hour.

Nostradamus had long been "on the back burner", the defence minister said, but its revival now forms part of the country's massive security investment drive.

President Emmanuel Macron, who has long urged greater European sovereignty, called in July for a 3.5-billion-euro ($4-billion) spending boost.

Of that, funding for Nostradamus is earmarked for an initial two million euros, with a further 50 million euros set to follow.

This type of system allows for long-range surveillance and anti-stealth capabilities, which enable it to detect aircraft invisible to conventional radar, according to Onera, the French aerospace research centre behind the technology.

The system can track both hypersonic missiles, like those fired from Iran, and slow-moving objects at high altitude, such as the Chinese balloon shot down over the United States in February 2023.

The aim is to bring Nostradamus to full capacity by mid-2028 by linking it to the air operations command system, said Air Force chief of staff General Jerome Bellanger.

France and Germany have also launched a joint initiative called Jewel to pool ground-based radar resources, open to other European partners, Lecornu said.

The project would allow data-sharing and the installation of antennas in other countries on the continent.

"We know that these sites are of obvious strategic interest," he said.