The United Kingdom has published a new national space strategy for 2027–2035 focused on defence, national security and economic growth. The plan is accompanied by an interagency spending program totaling more than £7.8 billion — approximately $10.6 billion — through 2030.
The strategy identifies four space subsectors for accelerated development:
- satellite communications;
- space domain awareness;
- in-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing — ISAM;
- access to space, including UK-based launch.
The government selected these areas because of their growth potential, contribution to the wider economy, relevance to national security and role in building a more competitive and strategically focused British space sector.
London commits to achieving “control of space”
The strategy reinforces the UK government’s commitment to enabling the Ministry of Defence to meet what it calls the “Control of Space Requirement.”
The objective is for the United Kingdom to:
- gain and maintain freedom of action and manoeuvre in, from and through space;
- protect and defend UK and allied space interests;
- deny adversaries the same freedoms.
The government says it will urgently develop an integrated, whole-of-government approach using orbital capabilities as well as military, diplomatic, regulatory and legal tools.
The concept echoes similar US policies that treat space as a contested operational domain and as a critical component of national security.
Four strategic development priorities
The strategy and its technical annex highlight several major capabilities and programs:
- space-domain-awareness systems that are nationally separable from joint allied programs;
- independent UK intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance — ISR capabilities;
- sovereign and resilient positioning, navigation and timing — PNT infrastructure;
- novel space technologies.
The Ministry of Defence and the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade will be required to establish a joint roadmap connecting civil and defence technology development in ISAM, space domain awareness and space control.
The roadmap is expected to be published in future updates to the UK’s defence space policy.
£880 million for ISR and space control
The largest explicitly detailed defence investment is £880 million between fiscal years 2026/2027 and 2029/2030.
The funds will support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance activities, as well as space-control capabilities.
According to the technical annex, the investment will support:
- sovereign UK space-based ISR systems;
- the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability — DARC;
- monitoring of objects and activity in deep space.
DARC is a joint project involving the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Construction of the UK facility is expected to begin next year. The documents do not specify how the £880 million will be divided between new ISR systems and DARC.
2035 goal: a sovereign and resilient UK ISR capability
The strategy states that by 2035 the United Kingdom should possess an ISR capability that is:
- secure;
- assured;
- UK-owned and operated;
- nationally separable;
- supported by sovereign technology, missions and infrastructure.
The capability is intended to improve the UK’s ability to monitor security risks while supporting national security and economic growth.
The document also refers to civil investment in remote-sensing capabilities, including through European Space Agency programs. It does not, however, provide a complete picture of the Ministry of Defence’s budget plans.
The strategy confirms only continued investment in the £968 million ISTARI program, which aims to deliver a multi-satellite ISR constellation and associated ground systems by 2031.
DARC and the Borealis system
In the space-domain-awareness sector, the Ministry of Defence will continue working with civil agencies and international partners.
This includes continued support for the National Space Operations Centre, jointly managed with the UK Space Agency. The Ministry of Defence will have sole responsibility for enhancing the Borealis command, control and data-processing system.
The upgrades will include improvements to sensor-tasking processes.
Borealis was launched in May through a £65 million contract awarded to CGI UK.
ISAM and orbital-debris removal
Although the Ministry of Defence will participate in developing ISAM capabilities, the UK Space Agency will be the primary investor in commercial companies operating in the sector.
The government plans to publish guidance in 2026 to support ISAM and lunar missions. The guidance will incorporate findings from a remote-proximity-operations — RPO — sandbox.
The goal is to support the development of British capabilities in:
- active debris removal;
- satellite inspection and servicing;
- in-space refueling and repair;
- orbital assembly and manufacturing;
- future lunar missions.
PNT infrastructure independent of GPS
Most development work in positioning, navigation and timing will be carried out by civilian agencies.
The Ministry of Defence will nevertheless take a leading role in concept studies for technologies capable of providing global timing independently of GPS and other global navigation satellite systems.
The objective is to create a more resilient infrastructure that is not exposed to the same vulnerabilities as existing GNSS systems.
The priority reflects growing concerns over jamming, spoofing and dependence on foreign space infrastructure.
At least 10% of equipment spending for novel technologies
The strategy also states that the Ministry of Defence plans to spend at least 10% of its annual Equipment Programme budget on novel technologies.
Within that policy, £420 million will be allocated to accelerate the delivery of innovative space capabilities.
The funding could support dual-use technologies and projects operating at the intersection of defence, research and the commercial sector.
A strategy combining military and economic ambitions
The new British strategy seeks to integrate civil and military investment in space more closely. London views national security, technological autonomy and economic growth as increasingly dependent on access to space-based data and services.
However, the document does not provide a total figure for Ministry of Defence investment or a complete breakdown of funding for the main defence programs.
The strategy therefore establishes ambitious objectives for 2035, but the scale of the UK’s actual effort will depend on annual budgets, cooperation with the United States and Australia, and the ability of British industry to turn policy commitments into operational systems.
