From special forces soldiers calling down missile strikes to battleships firing cruise missiles, few modern military operations can happen without satellite communications.
Little surprise, then, that space is itself becoming a battleground. Only last month, South Korea was threatening to shoot down a planned North Korean military satellite. Last year, Russia impounded 36 satellites run by Britain’s OneWeb, while China has been boosting its efforts to develop cyberweapons to hack or even hijack US defence spacecraft.
“The loss of space-based communications and navigation services could have a devastating impact on warfighters during a conflict,” said Lieutenant General Scott Berrier, director of America’s Defense Intelligence Agency, last year.
British companies are among the biggest players in the high-tech space industry, both for civilian and military satellites.
