BRITAIN'S enemies are posing an increasing threat in space, the head of the RAF warned as he announced a new military unit tasked with defending satellites.
Speaking at the UK Space Power Conference in London on Wednesday, Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth said space had “become a warfighting domain whether we like that or not”.
He pointed to recent Russian behaviour, including “dangerous” manoeuvres by Moscow’s military satellites near Finnish commercial satellites, and attempts to disrupt GPS signals as evidence of “more irresponsible and provocative actions from our adversaries” in space.
He said: “Make no mistake, the satellites services you may have taken for granted now face unprecedented threats.”
Major disruption to GPS satellites could cost the UK £1.4 billion a day, he added.
In response to the increasing threat, Sir Harv announced the creation of No 3 Space Effects Squadron to “disrupt, degrade and deny hostile activity to defend UK space interests”.
The squadron, the first of a series of new space units, will be staffed by specialist personnel to support both defensive and offensive actions.
Insisting the UK would “never escalate military activity in space”, Sir Harv said: “No one wants a war in space.
“We are positioning to deter this.”
The new squadron will be tasked with defending satellites including those guiding ships, providing communications and warning of missile attacks, the Ministry of Defence said.
Ballistic missile warning systems have become more vital in recent years, with the wars in Ukraine and Iran seeing the number of ballistic missile firings increase from single figures to up to 40 a month, Air Commodore Darren Whiteley, interim commander of UK Space Command, told the conference.
The conference also heard from Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, who argued that control of space will be as important in the 21st century as control of the seas or the air were in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Stressing the importance of preparing for conflict in space, he said: “We cannot afford to make the cliched mistake of fighting the last war.
“More importantly, we would be wrong to prepare only to fight a current war.
“The rapid advances in battlefield technology and tactics we see in Ukraine is our warning. It would be foolish not to learn the lesson.
“Things are moving at warp speed. We have to be ready for space at the next battleground, and we are.”
Earlier, Streeting told LBC the new squadron would comprise “tens of people”, but could expand over time.
He said: “For now, this is the right level of resource that we can be pleased about where we are and where this country sits in relation to the space race, and the science and the technology that we have here in the UK.”
The announcement comes after the release of a new Government strategy earlier this month designed to strengthen defences against threats from space.
SaxaVord Spaceport, on the island of Unst, Shetland, at the northernmost point of the UK, is set to receive a further £30 million in support through the UK Space Strategy.
The strategy sets out funding of £7.8 billion across the space sector up to 2030.
Included in the funding is £2.8 billion for the Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit and Skynet defence communications programme.
