UK to launch military squadron to protect satellites in space

The United Kingdom is expanding its military footprint into orbit with the creation of a specialized space unit designed to defend critical infrastructure and counter hostile activity in space. According to the Ministry of Defence, the newly formed No. III Space Effects Squadron will act against orbital threats using advanced technology, including electronic warfare.

The announcement is scheduled for Wednesday, 23 September 2026, at the Space Power conference in London. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting will use the platform to outline the strategic necessity of the move, noting that Britain must keep pace in what he described as a new space race.

Strategic Context and Prior Orbital Units

The newly unveiled unit builds upon existing space defence architecture. Two prior units—No. I Space Operations Squadron and No. II Space Warning Squadron—already allow the RAF to watch and warn of threats in space. While those existing elements focus on detection, the newly formed No. III Space Effects Squadron is intended to actively disrupt, degrade, and deny hostile actions directed at British assets.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the squadron will bring together specialist personnel from across the armed forces. Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth, emphasized the shifting nature of orbital security, stating that space is a domain of direct competition where military advantage can be won or lost.

Previous warnings highlighted vulnerabilities in orbit. UK Space Command said last year that Russia was attempting to jam UK military satellites on a regular basis.

Global Reactions and Broader Space Strategy

The UK's military escalation in orbit coincides with broader international tensions. Earlier in the month, the United States, which established the United States Space Force in 2019 as the sixth branch of its armed forces, said that it had deployed weapons in space for the first time. Responding to the US announcement, China’s foreign ministry said Washington was preparing for war in outer space and warned against turning space into a battlefield.

Despite these developments, the UK government maintains that it has formally ruled out destructive anti-satellite missile testing and continues to work through the UN committee on the peaceful uses of outer space to promote norms, rules and principles of responsible space behaviours.

The establishment of the space squadron follows the recent release of a government strategy designed to strengthen defences against threats from space, setting out funding of £7.8bn across the space sector up to 2030. As part of these broader plans, the SaxaVord Spaceport, on the island of Unst, Shetland, at the northernmost point of the UK, is to receive a further £30m.

As UK Space Command and the Ministry of Defence continue to roll out capabilities under the multi-billion-pound space strategy, the moves come after warnings that other nations have been building up military capabilities in space.