The RAF has launched No. III Space Effects Squadron, its first dedicated unit to counter hostile threats to UK satellites.
- New No. III Space Effects Squadron will be the UK’s first unit dedicated to disrupting, degrade, and deny hostile threats in space.
- The squadron will protect the critical satellites that guide British ships, connect mobile phones and warn of missile attacks.
- Forms a key part of the UK’s ability to gain and maintain freedom to operate in space, as set out in the government’s Space Strategy published this month.
Satellites vital to everyday life in the UK are set to be protected from hostile threats, as the RAF launches the UK’s first ever dedicated space squadron focused on disrupting, degrading, and denying enemy activity targeting British interests in space.
Announced today by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smith at the first-ever UK Space Power Conference, No. III Space Effects Squadron will bring together specialist personnel from across the Armed Forces to counter hostile activity in orbit and defend the satellites the nation depends on every day.
While sister units No. I Space Operations Squadron and No. II Space Warning Squadron give the RAF the ability to watch and warn of threats in space, the new No. III Squadron will act against those threats, using advanced technology, including Electronic Warfare, to disrupt, degrade and deny hostile actions. The squadron will support both offensive and defensive space operations and will expand over time as new capabilities enter service.
It comes as the Defence Secretary Wes Streeting will give a keynote address at the Space Conference.
He is expected to say:
Britain has to keep pace in the new space race. Control of the waves was the essential ingredient in 19th century deterrence. That is why Britain built the finest naval power in history. In the 20th century it was control of the skies, and so we built a world class air force to protect us. This century will depend on control of space.
Our dependency on space is precisely why it is increasingly under threat from our adversaries. That threat is growing in scale, speed, and sophistication. And challenges in space increasingly mirror the geopolitics on Earth.
My job is to make sure that our deterrence in space is as strong as it is on Earth, and to modernise our armed forces so that they are ready to deter and, if necessary, defeat any adversary, in any domain.
Satellites are a core part of national security and support daily life across the UK. They are critical to intelligence gathering and missile warning, but also power mobile phone data, weather forecasts and online ordering. Ambulances, firefighters and the police rely on satellite navigation systems for emergency responses, and energy networks use the same systems to organise power grids.
As space becomes more crowded and more dangerous – with hostile states developing capabilities to jam, disrupt or disable space assets – the government is taking action to defend UK interests in space, while maintaining an operational advantage for our armed forces.
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth, said:
Space no longer supports operations from the sidelines. It’s a domain of direct competition, where our military advantage can be won or lost.
No. III Space Effects Squadron will safeguard the vital benefits that space gives to our integrated armed forces, and will be capable of denying those benefits to our adversaries.
The formation of No. III Space Effects Squadron contributes to the UK’s developing capabilities for space warfare, including Electronic Warfare and countermeasures against anti-satellite weapons.
The work delivers on the UK’s Control of Space Requirement - the need to maintain freedom to operate in space, and deny adversaries the same freedom. The Requirement was set out in the UK Space Strategy published earlier this month, and builds on the Strategic Defence Review, which made clear that the ability to operate in, from and through space underpins the UK’s security, prosperity and daily way of life.
While taking action to protect critical space infrastructure, the government remains committed to the peaceful and sustainable use of space.
The UK 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.
That commitment underpins the UK’s continuous work with allies and partners to strengthen collective defence in space, including an £880 million investment between 2026/27 and 2029/30 in space-based Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and space control activities.