The European Union is actively developing its own satellite navigation system, Galileo, to reduce its strategic dependence on the American GPS.
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), Galileo is already used by billions of devices worldwide and provides one of the highest positioning accuracies of any existing system. It is considered the world’s largest civilian satellite navigation system. Galileo operates on a medium-range orbit (MEO) constellation of satellites and is integrated into most modern smartphones, car navigation systems, and various services.
The Celeste program marked a significant milestone in the development of the European navigation infrastructure. In March 2026, ESA successfully launched the first two satellites of this system into orbit. Unlike Galileo, the new satellites are in low-Earth orbit (LEO).
The combination of the two orbital constellations is expected to significantly improve the resilience of European navigation to various types of interference, including deliberate signal jamming. Signal reception quality will also significantly improve in challenging conditions, such as dense urban areas, indoors, and at high northern latitudes.
The EU views the development of Galileo and Celeste not only as a technological project but also as a matter of Europe’s strategic autonomy in a critical area. Full deployment of the Celeste system is planned for the coming years.