The British military has been using a ground-based electronic warfare system to jam satellites operated by other countries as part of efforts to protect the United Kingdom from hostile threats in space, the BBC reports.
The Royal Air Force has operated the system for about a year, with a defence source saying it had already been deployed “to deter our adversaries”.
The capability could reportedly be used to prevent hostile nations from using satellites to track the movements of Britain’s nuclear-armed submarines or monitor sensitive military activities involving special forces.
The development coincides with the creation of the RAF’s new Space Effects Squadron, which is tasked with defending British satellites and countering hostile activities in space.
The Ministry of Defence said the unit would focus on “disrupting, degrading and denying hostile threats in space”, while protecting satellites used for missile warnings, communications and navigation.
Speaking at the UK Space Conference, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said modern life was heavily dependent on satellites, including for mobile communications and banking, warning that losing GPS would cost the UK economy £1.4bn a day.
“Our dependency on space is precisely why it is increasingly under threat from our adversaries.” he said.
“We depend on them for everything from weather forecasts, energy supplies, and financial transactions to sat-navs, mobile phone connections, and Amazon deliveries,” Streeting said, adding that the loss of “everyday conveniences would undermine our daily freedoms, and trust in our institutions.”
Streeting said threats from Britain’s adversaries were increasing in “scale, speed and sophistication”, adding that “the challenges in space increasingly mirror the geopolitics on Earth”.
The BBC reported that several countries are believed to possess similar ground-based systems designed to interfere with satellites.
The former head of the UK’s Space Command had also said Russia was attempting to jam British satellites with ground-based systems “every week”.
The defence source described Britain’s terrestrial electronic warfare capability as “world leading, and more”.
The United States last week confirmed for the first time that it had deployed an unspecified “weapon” in space to defend its satellites, a move condemned by Russia and China, which warned of a potential arms race in space.
The US has accused both countries of developing space-based weapons, including electronic jammers, lasers capable of blinding satellites and projectiles that could be fired from satellites in orbit.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth said Britain was witnessing “more and more irresponsible and provocative actions” from its adversaries.
In May, the RAF tracked what it described as “dangerous manoeuvres” by five Russian satellites close to two Finnish commercial satellites.
Smyth also said in June that a Russian satellite constellation had disrupted GPS signals across Europe and Canada.
The UK operates a small number of military satellites for surveillance and communications but works closely with the US Space Force, which has a significantly larger satellite capability.
Smyth warned that losing satellite services would affect several aspects of everyday life.
“Unfortunately we are seeing more and more irresponsible and provocative actions from our adversaries”.
He said that without satellites, technologies people take for granted would disappear, making every sector “less efficient, less prosperous and less secure”.
“Sat-nav systems would fail, congestion on our roads would be severe and our emergency services would take longer to help those in need,” he said, adding that satellites were also essential for monitoring weather and climate change.
