France, Jan. 21 -- Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), announced that it has been awarded a contract by the French Space Agency (CNES), in partnership with the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA), for the DESIR program (Demonstrateur des Elements Souverains d'Imagerie Radar). The contract covers the development and realization of the radar payload and the associated user ground segment.The DESIR program aims to develop technologies for a sovereign French space radar imaging capability, complementing existing international agreements, and thus represents a key milestone in building a national radar imaging sector - a critical technology for the Armed Forces in support of the country's strategic...