Now that UK Space Command is well established and primary space strategy documents have been published, Defence Space is no longer the novelty that it was perceived as by many a few years ago. Yet it is important not to lose focus on the scale and significance of the challenges that remain. It has become clear – especially through the war in Ukraine – that space is not only a crucial element underpinning everyday terrestrial operations but also is increasingly becoming a battlefield. Physical threats to assets in orbit, a heavily contested electromagnetic spectrum and frequently disrupted access to secure communications are likely to be routine conditions in future wars. The questions that must be asked now, with organisational structures and expertise in place, are: what does Defence need, how do we acquire it, and who are the most suitable partners?
Answering these questions will require examining how Defence Space procures and accesses services. NATO structures, especially in the realm of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, already include commercial partners through the digital constellation ‘Aquila’. Meanwhile, commercial satellite imagery providers are expanding and diversifying their offerings to become more attractive to their main customer base – the military. Is the UK Ministry of Defence ready, with the requisite commercial and organisational structures in place, to take maximum advantage of novel approaches like this?
Once the required capabilities are in place, it is also vital that Defence protects these assets. Threats in space are constantly evolving, and so the UK faces an ongoing challenge in assuring its capabilities. Adversaries, most notably Russia, are focusing significant efforts on counterspace capabilities as part of an asymmetric approach in their ongoing confrontation with the West. Knowing that its own space capabilities are lagging, Russia’s strategy is to actively disrupt and maintain the capacity to destroy space capabilities that it knows the US and its allies depend on heavily. The longstanding red line of using direct-ascent ASAT attacks against other country’s satellites may become blurred with the evolution of less obviously destructive kinetic capabilities, such as rendezvous and proximity operations. These and other non-kinetic counterspace capabilities may also make detecting and attributing an attack more difficult.
Since the possibility of such attacks can never be entirely ruled out, resiliency in systems must be built in. The UK and its allies – be it through multilaterally shared or sovereign systems - must be able to absorb the loss of significant orbital assets and continue operating with as little disruption as possible. This may be possible through diverse systems or terrestrial fallback options. It is therefore important to take stock of existing measures and structures while evaluating what the optimal way forward may look like, accounting not only for current and potential threats but also for the many non-traditional opportunities afforded by the New Space industry.
Confirmed speakers
Keynote
AVM Paul Godfrey, Commander Space Command
Panellists
- Peter Hagen, Head of Space Policy, Ministry of Defence
- Nik Smith, Regional Director UK and Europe, Lockheed Martin Space
- Daniel Hilgert, Space Officer, Defence Investment Division, NATO
- Taskeen Ali, Head of Futures, HMRC
- Major General Philippe Adam, Commander of French Space Command
- Fiona Stone, Resilience Programme Senior Manager, UK Space Agency
- Generalmajor Michael Traut, Commander of German Space Command
Who Should Attend and Why
The RUSI Space Power Conference will bring together a diverse set of stakeholders to contribute to this essential discussion on building resilient space structures. The conference will be ‘off the record’ and will provide a neutral forum to encourage rich debate and ensure an honest and open exchange.
Participants will be invited to attend this closed-door event.
Joining Instructions
This is an in-person only conference taking place at RUSI, 61 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2ET. Lunch and refreshments will be provided on the day for delegates.
Please book your place to attend.
