Defence in the Media: Wednesday 29 August 2018

Today’s papers report that UK industry will benefit from £92 million to design a national alternative to the EU’s Galileo satellite system, ensuring UK security post-Brexit.

UK alternative to Galileo

Outlets including the Financial Times, The Guardian, and The Sun report that UK industry will benefit from a £92 million injection to design a national alternative to the EU’s Galileo satellite system, ensuring UK security post Brexit.

Satellite navigation systems like GPS are increasingly important for commercial, military and other critical applications, from guiding aircraft, ships and emergency services to helping millions of people find their way on car journeys. A recent government study estimated that sustained disruption to satellite navigation would cost the UK economy £1 billion per day.

The government has been clear that the UK wants to remain involved in the Galileo programme, and is negotiating with the European Commission to this end. Without the assurance that UK industry can collaborate on an equal basis now and in the future, and without access to the necessary security-related information to rely on Galileo for military functions such as missile guidance, the UK would be obliged to end its participation in the project.

The Ministry of Defence is playing a full role in support of the UK Space Agency, who are leading this phase of work to look at options for a British Global Navigation Satellite System.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

The danger space poses as a new front for warfare is one of my personal priorities, and it is absolutely right that we waste no time in going it alone if we need an independent satellite system to combat those emerging threats. This alternative system and the UK’s very first Defence Space Strategy which I will launch later this year will be a further boost to military skills, our innovative businesses and our genuinely world-leading role which has seen us make such a key contribution to Galileo.

You can read more here.

Image of the Day

Defender of The Galaxy. A Land Rover Defender pictured at night under the Milk Way Galaxy, on the only road between Stanley and Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands. Judging for the 2018 Royal Air Force Photographic Competition recently took place at the Royal Air Force Museum London. Crown copyright. — Defender of The Galaxy. A Land Rover Defender pictured at night under the Milk Way Galaxy, on the only road between Stanley and Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands.
Judging for the 2018 Royal Air Force Photographic Competition recently took place at the Royal Air Force Museum London. Crown copyright.

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Defence in the Media: Wednesday 29 August 2018

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