The UK is investing more than $673 million in sensors to help protect its satellites that are vulnerable to attack from lasers.
The UK Armed Forces project, announced Friday, is designed to protect satellites used in bank transfers and weather forecasts as well as emergency services and even intelligence operations, according to the UK Ministry of Defense. The government said one-fifth of the UK economy relies upon satellite services. The project is part of the UK’s Plan for Change.
The government noted that lasers can be used by adversaries to track the locations of satellites and then dazzle or blind them and even intercept and interrupt communications.
Sensor tech under development will be able to determine the characteristics of lasers based in space or on the ground and whether they pose a threat to the satellite. That insight will be provide to the military to protect and defend UK and allied space systems and assets. They are being developed by the UK Space Command, a joint command of the British Armed Forced and the UK Space Agency.
The sensor project comes as part of the UK’s Strategic Defense Review, which says defense in space is central to warfighting and protection of national infrastructure. The investment in defense is seen as an engine for growth, the government said.
“Space is hugely important and satellites play a vital role in UK prosperity and security…It is essential they are protected,” said Luke Pollard, minister for defense readiness and industry.
Major General Paul Tedman, commander of UK Space Command, said threats to national interest in space are increasing. “In this new era of threats, UK Space Command is competing against a growing arsenal of adversary counterspace systems and requires new and innovative edge technology to protect and defend our satellites.” He called the sensor program “novel technology.”
In the United States, the Space Surveillance Network and other systems have the ability to detect and track laser attacks on satellites. The US approach uses lasers themselves to monitor atmospheric conditions that affect laser propagation. Deployment against an adversary remains undisclosed. The lasers create an artificial bright spot in the upper atmosphere, achieved by exciting sodium atoms. Telescopes monitor the bright spot to measure atmospheric distortions, needed for accurately tracking and targeting objects, including attacking lasers.
Ben Greene, chief innovation officer at Electro Optic Systems, called these protective laser systems essential for comprehensive security.
Satellites in space are growing in number and threats against them are a concern of the US, UK and their allies. In an interview with the BBC, the head of the UK Space Command said Russia has been trying on a weekly basis to jam the UK’s military satellites using ground based system. While Britain has a half dozen dedicated military satellites in orbit for communications and surveillance, the US, China and Russia each have more than a hundred. The combined Russian and Chinese fleet of satellites has grown by 70% over the past decade. The UK has joined the US in warning that Russia is developing the ability to put nuclear weapons in space.