Look Up commits over €100 million in investment to build strategic space surveillance infrastructure in France’s overseas territories

Ahead of Choose Outre-mer, organised on 1 October by the French Ministry for Overseas Territories, Look Up is presenting its plans for a radar network across France’s overseas territories, with six new space surveillance radars set to be deployed.

These investments will support the deployment of Look Up’s high-precision SORASYS radars, designed to detect and track satellites and debris at altitudes of up to 2,000 km, day and night and in all weather conditions. Look Up aims to deploy a network of seven radars by 2030, capable of monitoring all traffic in low Earth orbit as early as 2028.

Following the installation of its first radar in Monts de Randon, Lozère, six additional radars are planned across France’s overseas territories, representing a total investment of more than €100 million. The first locations include French Polynesia, where two radars representing €30 million in investment will soon enter service, and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, where Look Up is developing a €20 million project.

€30 million invested in French Polynesia

In Tahiti, Look Up is deploying two new radars, SORASYS 2A and SORASYS 2B. A major project milestone was reached in late January 2026 with the signing of a hosting agreement with Tahiti Nui Telecom, in the presence of the President of French Polynesia and the French Minister for Higher Education and Research.

The project, co-funded by EU SST, is being developed in close cooperation with the Government of French Polynesia, the French High Commission, French state services, and local institutional, business and technical stakeholders.

Look Up’s ambition is to build with the territory, rather than simply within it, drawing wherever possible on local expertise, businesses and partners for the deployment, subsequent operation and maintenance of these facilities.

A €20 million project in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon

Look Up is also preparing to install a new SORASYS 3 radar in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, with a planned investment of €20 million. This will be the first SORASYS installation in the North Atlantic, a strategic location that will extend the geographical coverage of Look Up’s global network.

The project is being developed in consultation with local stakeholders. Since 2025, Look Up has been engaging with the Prefecture, the Territorial Authority, civil aviation services, the Directorate for Territories, Food and the Sea (DTAM), customs authorities, EDF and various local technical stakeholders. The company also accompanied the President of the French Republic during his visit to the archipelago in September. Wherever possible, Look Up intends to involve local businesses and expertise in the project.

Six radars across France’s overseas territories to build infrastructure with global reach

Beyond the physical infrastructure, control over data is central to the project. Look Up owns and directly operates its radar network, enabling it to generate independent orbital data in near real time, with direct control over data quality and access.

These data are intended to support defence stakeholders, institutions, space agencies and commercial operators in gaining a better understanding of the orbital environment, anticipating risks and protecting satellites and critical infrastructure.

As space becomes increasingly congested and strategically important, autonomous detection and tracking capabilities operating from French territories are a matter of sovereignty for France and Europe.

“In our business, geography is a technology. France’s overseas territories give the country unique vantage points from which to observe space across the globe. By deploying six radars there, we want to turn this geographical advantage into a sovereign technological capability: French infrastructure, operated by Look Up, capable of generating independent data on what is happening in orbit. And we want to do this together with the territories, involving their businesses and expertise wherever possible in this new global infrastructure,” said Michel Friedling, Co-founder and CEO of Look Up.

Making France’s overseas territories an asset for space sovereignty

Further radars are planned in French Guiana, Réunion and New Caledonia. The six radars across France’s overseas territories will form part of a global network, providing Look Up with complementary capabilities to detect and track objects in low Earth orbit.

Beyond their strategic role, these installations are designed as industrial projects rooted in the local economy. Their construction, operation and maintenance are expected to foster lasting partnerships with local businesses and stakeholders, while gradually developing the skills needed to support advanced technological infrastructure.

Look Up’s participation in Choose Outre-mer 2026 highlights another aspect of the appeal of France’s overseas territories: their capacity to host investment in cutting-edge technology and strategic infrastructure that directly supports French and European sovereignty.

About Look Up

Founded in 2022 by Michel Friedling, a former French Air and Space Force general and the first Commander of French Space Command, and Juan-Carlos Dolado Perez, former Head of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) at CNES, Look Up is a leading European company in space surveillance and security.

Look Up develops an integrated solution combining ground-based detection capabilities, orbital data processing and fusion, and services for space surveillance and space operations management. It provides institutional, defence and commercial stakeholders with an accurate and independent understanding of the situation in orbit.

This solution draws on two complementary proprietary technologies: SORASYS, a network of next-generation radars dedicated to detecting and tracking objects in low Earth orbit, and SYNAPSE, a digital platform for orbital data fusion and analysis.

Look Up’s ambition is to contribute to the safety, sovereignty and sustainability of space activities in Europe and worldwide. For our generation and those to come.