France has launched the first-ever EU military space exercise - AsterX, named after a French satellite launched in 1965, Les Echos reported.

During the exercise, specialists will check the response capabilities of the relevant units to potentially dangerous events. For example, the detection of spy satellites or threatening objects in space.

The first commander of the French Space Command Michel Friedling said that the exercises are a kind of stress test for systems. He also noted that they are the first not only for the French army but for the entire EU.