WikiLeaks reveals US-German spy plan

Germany and the US are jointly developing secret spy satellites under the guise of a commercial program, despite opposition from France, leaked US diplomatic cables indicated Monday.

The project, named HiROS, envisions the construction of an undetermined number of high-resolution observation satellites capable of spotting any object on the planet down to a size of just 50 centimeters, according to classified cables from the US embassy in Berlin leaked to WikiLeaks and obtained by Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.

The satellites will have the capacity to take infrared images at night and to send images much quicker back to earth than the satellites currently in service, the cables show.

Due to the controversial nature of the program, US and German officials have decided it should be presented as a civilian project with en-vironmental aims, run by commercial entities.

However, in reality it is "under the total control" of the German intelligence service BND and the German aerospace center DLR, according to the cables.

A DLR spokesman denied on Monday that HiROS, which stands for High Resolution Optical Satellite System, was a spy satellite.

"The purpose of HiROS will be to transmit data for public services, for example for crisis management in natural catastrophes," Andreas Schuetz told AFP in an e-mail. "HiROS is not a spy satellite nor a secret project."

The cables show that some countries, "especially France," have tried to stop the project by every means possible.

The opposition from Paris, however, appears to have been brushed aside by German officials, who, according to the cables, said they were sick of being "outmaneuvered by France."

According to Aftenposten, the satellites could cost an estimated $274 million and would enter service between 2012 and 2013.

AFP