French Defence Chief Visits Luxembourg to Bolster Bilateral Cooperation

Luxembourg's Chief of Defence has reported that the Chief of the Defence Staff of the French Armed Forces, General Thierry Burkhard carried out an official visit to Luxembourg from Sunday 24 to Monday 25 August 2025.

According to Luxembourg's Chief of Defence, General Burkhard was welcomed with military honours by the Chief of Defence of the Luxembourg Army, General Steve Thull. During an official dinner, General Thull awarded his French counterpart the Officer’s Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown.

This honour was awarded in recognition of General Burkhard’s personal commitment and his role as a facilitator in the implementation of multiple Luxembourgish military projects involving French armed forces. These include training and exercise opportunities supporting the development of the Belgian-Luxembourgish binational combat reconnaissance battalion, as well as the integration of a Luxembourg contingent into the French-led multinational battlegroup AIGLE in Romania, enabling Luxembourg’s armed forces to actively contribute to NATO’s deterrence and defence efforts on its south-eastern flank, as noted by Luxembourg's Chief of Defence.

The visit also offered an opportunity for discussions on future developments in defence space capabilities, a priority for both countries. These discussions were further expanded with subject matter experts during a visit to SES (Société Européenne des Satellites) in Betzdorf. The highly secure communication capabilities provided by Luxembourgish mobile satellite communication teams to France in Romania rely in particular on the GovSat-1 satellite, operated by GovSat, a public-private partnership between the Luxembourg Government and SES. In July 2025, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Defence submitted a draft law concerning the launch of a second communications satellite.

Both defence chiefs also agreed on the crucial importance of having space-based communication capabilities that can be deployed easily and instantly to securely link tactical command posts on the ground, according to Luxembourg's Chief of Defence.

"I know that the French armed forces can count on the military forces of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and I want to assure you that the reverse is equally true. An old alliance, yet resolutely focused on the future, it is essential to the development of a European pillar of NATO, which is vital for the defence of our continent," stated General Thierry Burkhard.

"Luxembourg, with the smallest army in NATO, needs strong military partners that provide a framework to express its solidarity in joint military operations. France is such a partner, and the integration of a Luxembourg contingent into the multinational battlegroup AIGLE is a concrete example," confirmed General Steve Thull.