Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve sovereign capabilities in satellite development.

The aim is to establish viable UK-based industrial expertise to support national programmes and international sales.

The specification for the next generation of the Skynet communications Satellites obligates the bidders to meet certain requirements related to the UK technical and manufacturing content of their offered solutions. The Satellites will be owned by the Ministry of Defence.

In conjunction with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and Defence Equipment & Support, UK Space Command recently launched its first Satellite - Tyche. Tyche represents the first of a future constellation of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance satellites that the UK will launch over the coming years.