The UK holds its first space warfare exercise
The UK held its first “ space war game ”, called “Space Warrior ”, at the Defense Experimentation and Wargaming Hub located in Southwick Park in Hampshire.
A press release published by the Royal Air Force (RAF) on July 29 said that personnel from the Ministry of Defense (MoD), industry and international partners and allies participated in the war games. The commander of the British Space Command, Major General Paul Tedman, oversaw the exercise.
The military exercise explored how the UK Ministry of Defence's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, such as those of the ISTARI programme, which is expected to provide a constellation of defense satellites for space-based ISR by 2031, can operate in synergy with commercial space ISR capabilities.
Interpretation of the British space network ISTARI
The Air Force did not provide specific details on how these war games were conducted and what the outcome was.
The British Ministry of Defense is trying to strengthen its space surveillance in anticipation of a conflict that could escalate and reach into space, especially involving industrial partners. This is reflected in the statement released by the commander of the British Space Command.
The Commander of the UK Space Command said: “S pace Warrior has provided vital guidance on what on-orbit ISR capabilities we need and to what extent. And, crucially, it also considered whether we should own the capability, access it through trade, or collaborate with allies. I am grateful to our industry partners and military allies for their participation, input and support. Space is a team sport .”
Allen Antrobus, chair of the UK Space Security and Defense Committee, praised the event as a significant milestone.
“ The UK Space Command's first Space Warrior Wargame was a timely and well-run event as we move towards the next Strategic Defense Review. The inclusion of colleagues from across the industry was an important step forward in demonstrating the MoD's commitment to listening to and engaging the broader defense industrial base ,” Antrobus said.
The UK Space Command has participated in several international exercises and war games since its establishment in 2021. The press release says that “Space Warrior” will be a regular event that will strengthen ties and understanding between the UK Space Command, the its partners, allies and industry.
The space war games organized by the United Kingdom are noteworthy because they mark the country's inaugural event in this sector, especially when considering its regular involvement in various war games in all three domains of air, sea and terrestrial.
Earlier this year, British forces took part in the largest NATO military exercises for a generation. Indeed, British troops led NATO war games on Estonia's border with Russia in a spectacular show of force.
In recent years, the UK has begun to seriously study space defence. In October 2022, a British parliamentary committee urged the government to appoint a Minister for Space “to provide clear centralized direction and accountability in advancing the UK's civil and defense ambitions in space”.
In 2022, the UK Ministry of Defense unveiled the Defense Space Strategy, outlining plans for the years ahead that primarily emphasize ISR capabilities in response to adversary challenges in space. Growing concerns about the potential vulnerability of military space systems have led the UK to invest in the development and acquisition of its own space-based ISR capabilities.
The UK's space strategy takes shape
The UK Defence's first space strategy was published in February 2022 to address the growing threats. The strategy focused on how defense would safeguard the UK's national interests in space in an age of space-based threats and the looming danger of space war.
The £1.4 billion investment includes a commitment of £968 million over 10 years to deliver the ISTARI programme, a multi-satellite system which is expected to provide increased global surveillance and intelligence for military operations.
It also allocated a further £61 million to study the use of advanced laser communications technology to transmit data from space to Earth at speeds comparable to superfast broadband.
The UK Space Command is scheduled to launch the first satellite this year. As part of the ISTARI Program, a network of new satellites will be created, the first of which will be Tyche . It is a 150-kilogram research and development satellite that will spend its five-year life in low Earth orbit.
Tyche – Source
Tyche has an electro-optical sensor, a high-resolution camera that allows it to take images of the Earth's surface during the day from space. It was designed and built in the UK under a £22m contract with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. It will be launched by SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Base, California.
One of the main objectives of the ISTARI program strategy is to strengthen bilateral and multilateral relationships with the UK's Five Eyes partners (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom), in particular with the United States as a lead partner.
Further evidence of increased investment in space systems is the UK's efforts to increase its space-based satellite imaging capabilities after decades of dependence on the US. Once Tyche's launch is complete, the UK will focus on the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) constellation Oberon, due to debut in 2025, and another Earth Observation (EO) system, Juno, in 2026.
In December 2023, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States announced their collaboration to develop an advanced deep space radar capability, which would enable the detection, tracking and characterizing of objects in geosynchronous orbit and beyond. The three nations are planning to install all-weather sensors that support this capability.
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This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/il-regno-unito-tiene-la-sua-prima-esercitazione-di-guerra-spaziale/ on Sat, 03 Aug 2024 16:06:08 +0000.