Galileo - German CEO Calls It A ''Stupid Idea'
Date: Monday, January 17 @ 10:49:32 UTC
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A leaked WikiLeaks cable quotes the head of German firm HB Technology calling the EU Galileo project as "a stupid idea".

The leaked diplomatic cable was published by Norwegian newspaper 'Aftenposten'. In the cable, Berry Smutny, OHB CEO is alleged to have told US diplomats that he thought the project was 'a waste of EU tax payers money championed by French interests.'. He is further quoted in the cable saying "I think Galileo is a stupid idea that primarily serves French interests".

The comments relate to US manipulation of GPS signals during the Kosovo conflict. This deeply concerned France who wanted an EU controlled GPS network to ensure their missile guidance systems were not reliant on the US DoD operated Navstar service.

OHB Technology leads the consortium that won the contract to build and test 14 satellites for the Galileo navigation network, a contract worth a staggering 566 million euros.

The alleged comments were made in 2009 ahead of the news that OHB had won the contract in January 2010. OHB were described as the underdog during the selection process with Astrium Satellites widely tipped to be the winners.

OHB have issued a written statement denying that Mr Smutny made the statements described in the US diplomatic cable.

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