Labour urges not to squander UK space power

Airbus has urged Labour to back Britain’s military satellite sector as a “springboard” for multi-billion-pound exports.

And the government was warned that failure to boost its “sovereign capability” in such a key area risked weakening the UK at a critical time.

Aerospace firm Airbus has teamed up with US firm Northrop Grumman in a competition to operate part of the UK’s upcoming ‘SkyNet 6’ programme to provide secure satellite communications to the military.

But it faces competition from American firm Lockheed Martin and French firm Thales.

Meanwhile, a government defence review has left the defence industry uncertain about future state support.

Ben Bridge, chairman of Airbus Defence and Space UK, has urged Britain to back its own space sector.

The former Royal Navy helicopter pilot said: ‘The advantage of having a sovereign capability is that you can design, build, operate and then change – we’ve seen in Ukraine the importance of responding to an emerging environment.

‘The UK is a major space power. We have a seat at the table when it comes to discussing space warfare, space law and other issues. We all interact with around 40 satellites a day.

“It’s an important issue in our daily lives, and as a military issue it’s becoming increasingly important. I hope the UK will want to maintain that position.” Airbus is based in France, but has UK-based employees operating satellite manufacturing plants in Stevenage and Portsmouth.

Bridge said Britain should “recognise, foster and strengthen its space capability for the sake of jobs and the value it has within the UK” and to “export great British technology, capability and products”.

That would “bring value and wealth back to the UK, but it would also have that soft power benefit.”

This comes weeks after Germany awarded Airbus the contract for its next-generation military satellite system.

Martin Rowse, campaign director at Airbus Defence and Space, said: “In an uncertain world, you don’t want to give up sovereign capability or weaken it.”