The protection of communications and satellites is becoming an increasingly important aspect of military capabilities. Armed forces rely on satellite connections to transmit information, coordinate operations, and maintain positioning and communication services, making these infrastructures potential targets for electronic interference and other threats.
The Spanish company Integrasys will participate in two new research and development projects in Luxembourg focused on this area. The contracts total nearly three million euros and will enable work on technologies aimed at protecting both military communications and certain strategic satellites.
Integrasys is a Spanish company founded in 1990, specialized in software and engineering for satellite networks and communications. From its headquarters in Las Rozas, it develops technologies for commercial operators, government administrations, and defense, offering solutions related to signal monitoring, interference detection, cybersecurity, and satellite network management.
Automatically Detecting Attacks on Communications
The first of the new projects is called Defence Communications Protection (Depcon) and will be led by Integrasys in collaboration with the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST).
Its goal is to develop an intelligent system capable of detecting threats that affect critical communications and responding automatically to them. This approach is particularly relevant in military environments, where interference can degrade or prevent the necessary communications to conduct an operation.
The technology falls within an area where Integrasys has been working for years. The company has systems designed to detect and mitigate radio frequency interference in satellite communications and solutions to protect positioning, navigation, and timing services based on GNSS.
The challenge is to advance toward systems with a higher degree of automation. In a scenario where an electronic threat can appear and change rapidly, reducing the time needed to identify and respond to it may be crucial for maintaining communications.
Hydra: Protecting Satellites in Space
The second project is named Hydra and brings together LMO Space, Integrasys, and LIST. In this case, the research moves directly to geostationary orbit, where numerous strategic communications satellites operate.
The project will combine optical and radio frequency sensors, intelligent onboard processing, and secure communications between satellites. The aim is to enhance the capability to identify and respond in real-time to threats such as electronic interference or the approach and presence of potentially hostile satellites.
The combination of different sensors is particularly relevant. Optical observation allows for visual information about objects in the vicinity of a satellite, while radio frequency sensors can detect and analyze emissions and interference. Processing some of that information directly in orbit would reduce the time required to react without exclusively relying on sending data to ground stations.
Integrasys is already developing technologies related to situational awareness in space. Among its solutions is Space Master, a platform that uses artificial intelligence to process images, characterize space objects, and generate alerts when potential threats are identified. The company also works on systems to detect and cancel radio frequency interference in satellite links.
Satellites: An Increasingly Strategic Infrastructure
The two projects reflect the growing importance of space within security and defense strategies. Military communications, navigation systems, earth observation, and numerous intelligence capabilities currently depend on infrastructures located in orbit.
This dependence makes the resilience of space systems a strategic factor. An operation against a satellite does not necessarily have to involve its physical destruction. Interfering with its communications, altering navigation signals, hindering data transmission, or approaching other objects capable of observing or disrupting its operation are scenarios that space defense technologies aim to detect and manage.
In this context, the ability to know what is happening around a satellite—commonly referred to as space domain awareness—is gaining greater importance. There is also an increasing need to protect communications against jamming or intentional interference techniques.
Luxembourg as a Gateway to the European Defense Ecosystem
Integrasys has entered these contracts through its subsidiary in Luxembourg, where it maintains one of its European centers. This choice is not coincidental. Luxembourg has built a significant ecosystem related to the space industry over the last few decades and is also strengthening the connections between this sector and security and defense capabilities.
The Luxembourg subsidiary of Integrasys already has experience in European programs. It is participating, among others, in DAEDALUS, a project selected under the European Defense Fund 2023 and coordinated by the also Spanish Acorde Technologies. Companies and research centers from Spain, Luxembourg, Germany, and Italy are involved in this initiative.
Integrasys also has a presence in other European markets and has strengthened its international activity in recent years. The awarding of Depcon and Hydra now expands that strategy toward technologies related to resilient military communications and protection of space infrastructures.
The two contracts have a limited economic dimension compared to large European armament programs, but they are significant due to the type of technology they are developing. Space, secure communications, electronic warfare, and automated information processing are increasingly gaining weight within the defense industry.
For Integrasys, the Luxembourg projects represent entry into two of these areas simultaneously: protecting communications when someone attempts to interfere with them and increasing the capacity to detect threats against satellites operating thousands of kilometers from Earth.
