Update: Germany abruptly denies involvement with project, offering no further details

Germany and the U.S. are planning a $270 million satellite spying program that is causing friction in the European Union, according to WikiLeaks documents published by Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten on Monday.

Citing diplomatic cables sent from the U.S. Embassy in Berlin, the newspaper said the project was presented as a commercial enterprise but is actually run by the German intelligence service and the German Aerospace Center, DLR.

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According to the cables sent in 2009 and last year, the satellites would be in place by 2013, but it wasn’t clear if the funding for the project had been secured.

Aftenposten cited cables revealing that the HiROS venture — a network of highly precise satellites — has been vehemently opposed by France and could weaken the EU’s military satellite cooperation.

The newspaper quoted a DLR official Andreas Eckardt as saying that absolutely no collaboration is planned with France or any other EU country for the project.

Mochila insert follows…