The head of the RAF has warned that Britain's enemies are posing an increasing threat in space, as he announced a new military unit tasked with defending satellites.
Speaking at the UK Space Power Conference in London on Wednesday, Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth said space had "become a warfighting domain whether we like that or not". He pointed to recent Russian behaviour, including "dangerous" manoeuvres by Moscow's military satellites near Finnish commercial satellites, and attempts to disrupt GPS signals as evidence of "more irresponsible and provocative actions from our adversaries" in space.
Unprecedented threats to satellite services
The stark warning comes amid heightened tensions between Britain and Russia, with the two countries trading accusations of hostile activity as fears grow over the possibility of Moscow's war in Ukraine spilling further into NATO territory.
Sir Harv added: "Make no mistake, the satellites services you may have taken for granted now face unprecedented threats."
Major disruption to GPS satellites could cost the UK £1.4 billion a day, he added.
Accusations of disinformation and cyber attacks
The warnings over Russia come as Britain has also accused Moscow of waging a campaign of disinformation and cyber attacks against the UK.
Speaking at the United Nations this week, Andy Burnham said Britain and its allies had been subjected to an "industrial-scale assault" by hostile states and accused Russian agencies of using "every means at their disposal to spread lies and disinformation and prey on people's fear".
He said: "They've used bots and fake websites. Falsified newspaper articles. Forged the branding of 28 British organisations – including universities and the BBC. They've amplified far-right narratives."
Mr Burnham also pointed to cyber attacks on British companies and institutions and warned that artificial intelligence could "multiply the threat".
Russian counter-accusations and new squadron
Moscow has meanwhile levelled accusations of its own against Britain. During Russia's parliamentary elections this month, the country's Central Election Commission claimed cyber attacks on its digital electronic voting system originated primarily from abroad, including Ukraine and the UK.
Commission chair Ella Pamfilova claimed more than 100 million "potentially harmful attacks on election resources" had been successfully blocked.
The claims came as relations between London and Moscow remain deeply strained over Britain's support for Ukraine.
The announcement comes after the release of a new Government strategy earlier this month designed to strengthen defences against threats from space. In response to the increasing threat, Sir Harv announced the creation of No 3 Space Effects Squadron to "disrupt, degrade and deny hostile activity to defend UK space interests".
