The Ukrainian transport aircraft An-124 was involved in the project to launch the French military satellite CSO-3.

The French newspaper Latribune published a photo of the Ukrainian aircraft that delivered the satellite to Guiana in South America.

The CSO-3 satellite itself was already launched into orbit on March 6, 2025, from the Kourou spaceport by an Ariane 6 rocket.

CSO-3 is the third and final satellite in the series developed for the French Space Command under the MUSIS program.

The use of the Ukrainian An-124 was a successful choice because of the aircraft’s cargo compartment, which is capable of accommodating oversized cargo.

Earlier, the Ukrainian transport aircraft An-124-100M was also involved in the withdrawal of the French contingent from Chad.

CSO-3

With the introduction of CSO-3, the military will be able to monitor the same area twice a day instead of once.

France has invested more than €900 million in the development and launch of these three satellites.

All of them are part of the French orbital constellation of satellites for optoelectronic intelligence.

The successful launch of Ariane 6 with the CSO-3 satellite was an important step towards Europe’s independent access to space amid deteriorating relations with the new US administration.

It is expected that the images acquired by the satellite would be available not only to the French military, but also to the armed forces of Germany and Belgium, which had invested in its development.

Also, since France has offered its intelligence to Ukraine, there is a high probability that this satellite will help the Ukrainian Defense Forces with satellite imagery against the background of the US blocking the provision of intelligence to our country.