Conflict & Security
UK military confirms jamming enemy satellites, unveils new space warfare squadron
September 23, 2026 at 05:57 PM
Coverage
3 reports · over 14 hours
BNBBC News
The arms race in space and how the UK is defending itself
(opens the publisher’s site)
BNBBC News
UK military jamming other nation's satellites to defend itself, BBC told
(opens the publisher’s site)
TGThe Guardian
UK to launch military squadron to protect satellites in space
(opens the publisher’s site)Britain has confirmed it has been jamming other nations' satellites and unveiled a new RAF squadron dedicated to defending UK satellites in orbit.
- A defence source told the BBC the RAF has used a ground-based jamming system for the past year "to deter our adversaries".
- The Ministry of Defence said the new Space Effects Squadron will focus on "disrupting, degrading and denying hostile threats in space".
- Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said losing GPS would cost the UK economy £1.4bn a day and that threats were growing in "scale, speed and sophistication".
- The US confirmed last week it had deployed a weapon in space for the first time; both China and Russia condemned the move, warning of an arms race.