Today, on March 3, an information day was held at the Ministry of Education and Science, during which the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ALPSTAR initiative was discussed. The initiative aims to develop a sovereign and interconnected intelligence and surveillance infrastructure that strengthens national security and enhances operational capacity to respond to military and civil security threats.
ALPSTAR is a Swiss Participating State initiative implemented within the European Space Agency’s (ESA) European Security and Resilience Programme, with the aim of establishing a sovereign and interconnected intelligence and surveillance infrastructure. This system will enable participating states to integrate their satellites, ground infrastructure, and information-sharing solutions into a unified, interoperable framework, allowing space data to be used for national defence, security, and civil protection purposes.
Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Science for Higher Education, Science and State Language Policy, Lana Frančeska Dreimane, emphasized: “Latvia views ALPSTAR as a strategic opportunity. Today, space systems are essential for situational awareness, border security, protection of critical infrastructure, and crisis management support. The ability to directly integrate space data into defence and security structures is becoming one of the fundamental elements of a modern state. At the same time, ALPSTAR provides Latvia with the opportunity to become part of a common European resilience architecture, strengthening our ability to cooperate with other countries and share sovereign, interoperable solutions that shape the future of Europe’s security space.”
During the event, the Latvian institutions involved — including representatives of the Ministry of Defence, the National Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior and its subordinate institutions (the State Police, the State Border Guard, and the State Fire and Rescue Service), as well as civil protection and crisis management structures — gained insight into the system, its architecture, functioning, and practical applications. The information day also highlighted Latvia’s needs in potential use cases and outlined possible national contributions to the overall system development, such as border surveillance, monitoring of the Baltic Sea situation, identification of hybrid threats, and monitoring of critical infrastructure.
A representative of the Swiss Armed Forces explained how Switzerland uses space technologies for military purposes, including situational awareness, resilience building, and national defence planning. Lessons learned that could be valuable for partner countries, including Latvia, were also discussed.
ESA representatives presented the structure of the ALPSTAR system — the space segment, ground infrastructure, and user layer — as well as the overall operational logic of the system and the principles of cooperation among participating countries.
The information day brought together representatives of ESA and defence and security institutions from Switzerland and Latvia, strengthening cooperation and preparing for the implementation of ALPSTAR in the coming years. For Latvia, such participation is possible thanks to its status as an ESA Associate Member State.
