Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the importance of the defence space domain in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the criticality of space to modern warfare, as well as the value of commercial technologies in supporting military activity.

Ukraine has successfully employed the use of commercial satellite services to access near real-time Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR). As well as acting as a force multiplier for military operations, ISR capabilities have helped to counter the Russian disinformation campaign on the global stage.

Satellite communication has also been critical, with the gifting of Starlink terminals proving to be a lifeline in achieving information advantage, enabling operations and humanitarian support.