- New detection tech is being built to spot lasers that
adversaries may use to dazzle satellites and intercept
communications.
- UK Armed Forces project will help protect satellites that are
used for everything from bank transfers and weather forecasts to
emergency services and intelligence operations.
- One fifth of the UK economy is reliant on satellite services,
with this latest innovation securing economic growth and making
our country more secure as part of the Plan for Change.
British businesses, emergency services and more will be protected
from drastic disruption by new sensors that identify laser
threats from adversaries to military and civilian satellites in
space.
Lasers can be used by adversaries to track the location
of satellites, dazzle or blind them, or to intercept and
interrupt communications.
The new sensor technology under development will be able to
determine the characteristics of lasers based in space or on the
ground and whether they pose a threat to the satellite, providing
the military with crucial information to protect and defend UK
and allied space systems and assets.
Nearly 20% of UK GDP is reliant on satellite services, which are
essential for supporting daily life, including through
communication, money transfers, navigation, emergency services,
and weather forecasting.
Satellites are also critical to defence, providing capabilities
such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and
providing instant communications to military
platforms.
The new sensors are being developed by the UK Space Command
(UKSC), which is a joint command of the British Armed Forces, and
the UK Space Agency (UKSA), the Government body responsible for
the country's civil space programme.
The project is backed by around £500,000 of funding - the first
allocated as part of the UKSA's Unlocking Space for Government
programme, which aims to harness space to improve UK public
services and strengthen national security as part of the
Government's Plan for Change.
Today's announcement follows the Strategic Defence Review
identifying defence in space as central to warfighting and
protecting national infrastructure, as well as identifying
investment in defence as an engine for growth that will be
crucial to the Government's Plan for Change.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, MP,
said:
“Space is a hugely important and contested frontline and
satellites play a vital role in UK prosperity and security. They
are crucial to our everyday lives and provide a critical
capability for our Armed Forces. It is essential they are
protected.
“Today's announcement shows our commitment to defend British
assets in orbit - which protect us on the ground, in the air and
at sea. This supports our national security, delivering on the
Government's Plan for Change.”
Major General Paul Tedman, Commander of UK Space Command,
said:
“The Strategic Defence Review raised space to parity with the
traditional warfighting domains and underscored the critical
importance of space to our economy, prosperity and national
security and defence. It made it clear that space does not
just accessorise our way of war, in many respects it is changing
it fundamentally. It also made clear that threats to our national
interests in space are increasing.
“In this new era of threats, UK Space Command is competing
against a growing arsenal of adversary counterspace systems and
requires new and innovative edge technology to protect and defend
our satellites.
“Therefore, I am delighted that in less than 6 months after
publishing the SDR, we are investing new money into this novel
technology to accelerate our space
programme.”
Harshbir Sangha, Director of Missions and Capabilities at
UK Space Agency, said:
“Protecting the UK's satellite infrastructure is vital to our
national security, economy and daily life. This joint project
with UK Space Command marks an important step in developing the
tools we need to detect and respond to emerging threats in space.
By investing in cutting-edge sensor technology, we're helping to
ensure that the UK remains resilient and ready in an increasingly
contested space environment.”
The aerospace and defence sectors added over £42 billion to the
economy last year, an increase of 64% in the last 10 years,
delivering on the Government's Plan for Change. There are now
443,000 people now directly employed across the UK, with the
Government making defence is an engine for economic growth.
