The French government has announced the completion of test flights for its aerostat-based CERBERE signals intelligence system, nine years after the programme first got underway.
In 2013, France’s Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA/General Armaments Directorate) defence procurement agency launched the CERBERE (Capacité Expérimentale Renseignement d'Origine Ėlectromagnétique Pour Ballons et Aérostats Légers/Experimental Signals Intelligence Capacity for Balloons and Light Aerostats) programme which has developed a signals intelligence (SIGINT) collection system equipping a tethered aerostat.
According to a written statement provided to Shephard by the DGA the initiative was spurred by the increasing sophistication of battlefield communications systems which the French military