The Royal Air Force (RAF) has launched its first dedicated unit to counter hostile activity targeting British interests in space: the No. III Space Effects Squadron.
Announced by the Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth at the UK Space Power Conference, the space squadron will complement the RAF’s existing No. I Space Operations Squadron and No. II Space Warning Squadron, which provide space monitoring, tracking, and warning capabilities.
No. III Space Effects Squadron will bring together specialist personnel from across the Armed Forces and use capabilities, including electronic warfare, to disrupt, degrade, and deny hostile actions in space.
It is intended to help protect satellites that support military operations and civilian services, spanning missile warning, weather forecasting, navigation, and mobile communications.
Moreover, the squadron supports the UK’s space warfare capabilities and Control of Space Requirement, which is “the need to maintain freedom to operate in space, and deny adversaries the same freedom” outlined in the UK Space Strategy published in early September.
Numbers 4, 5, and 6 squadrons, as well as a Space Tactics and Training Squadron, are also being planned, according to Smyth.
Defending UK Space Assets
In his speech, Smyth highlighted the “unusual and dangerous maneuvers” linked to Russian spacecraft against UK assets in space.
He cited how five Russian military satellites moved closer to two British finished commercial satellites in May, followed by a Russian satellite constellation disrupting GPS signals across Europe, Greenland, and Canada in June.
As “space has become a warfighting domain,” the UK government has invested an additional 50 million pounds ($66 million) to extend the service life of its SKYNET 5 satellites while the country develops the upcoming SKYNET 6 series, which will provide a sovereign military satellite communications system.
A satellite constellation providing multi-sensor, multi-spectral capability to observe Earth in various conditions — comprising the now-operational Tyche along with the upcoming Titania, Juno, and Oberon satellites — is also being set up.
The UK is also working with the US and Australia for the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) program.