County Durham technology firm Filtronic has announced a £51.3m ($68.1m) order from Elon Musk's SpaceX, marking the largest in the company's history.
Filtronic, based on the NETPark business and science park at Sedgefield, designs and manufactures radio frequency solutions for the space, aerospace, defence and telecoms sectors. It first linked up with SpaceX in 2024 and has received a number of orders since then.
Details of the contract
The new contract covers the supply of Filtronic's Cerus E-band gallium nitride solid state power amplifier units. It is expected to be completed in 2028.
The order comes as Filtronic, which is the North East Business of the Year, is set to hand over that crown. The North East Business Awards take place tonight close to Filtronic's headquarters in Sedgefield.
CEO comment and company background
Filtronic's chief executive officer Nat Edington said: "This follow-on order from SpaceX, is another significant milestone for Filtronic, providing extended order visibility and coverage over the next couple of years.
"This order provides further evidence of the growing importance of GaN technology in high-frequency communications and reinforces Filtronic's position at the leading edge of this transition. This order also provides significant revenue visibility into FY2028 and beyond, representing another important step for the business but also the continued development of our partnership with SpaceX."
Financials and SpaceX news
Filtronic - which has sites in Leeds, Manchester, Cambridge and the US, as well as its North East base - has a growing global reputation as a leading designer and manufacturer of advanced radio frequency solutions. Its most recent accounts show revenues of £55.5m and operating profits of £4m. Earlier this year it moved to a new, larger site on NETPark.
The new order from SpaceX comes as Elon Musk's company has been back in the news. Earlier this week it launched its Starship into orbit for the first time and successfully delivered the most advanced Starlinks yet. The spacecraft re-entered over the Pacific and splashed down north of Hawaii three hours after blasting off from Texas. The company had been aiming for a 10-hour flight, spanning six full laps around Earth, to prove its readiness for Nasa's Artemis Moon programme but cut it short for safety reasons.
