National Space Operations Centre. (UK MoD Crown Copyright)
UK plans new space squadrons to protect satellites
At least three new squadrons will be formed.
24 SEP 2026
By
Olivia
Savage
Editor in Chief, DSEI Gateway
The UK is planning to form new space squadrons to protect its satellites and maintain its freedom of action in space, the UK’s Chief of the Air Force announced to DSEI Gateway and other media on 23 September.
Speaking at the 2026 Space Power Conference in London, Air Chief Marshal (ACM) Sir Harv Smyth, Chief of the Air Staff, announced that several new squadrons would be launched, including No. III Space Effects Squadron, to defend the UK’s assets offensively and defensively.
It will be “UK defence’s first dedicated squadron to deliver operations in support of the UK's control of space missions,” ACM Smyth said.
No. III Space Effects Squadron
No. III Space Effects Squadron “will disrupt, degrade, and deny hostile activity… The squadron will be staffed by specialist personnel from across defence and will support offensive and defensive space operations, safeguarding the critical space services which are so incredibly precious to us,” ACM Smyth said.
This is designed to deter war, he stressed, adding that “no one wants a war in space”.
Image of a Chinese TJS-14 satellite on orbit captured by the UK's Noctis-1 space telescope. (UK MoD Crown Copyright 2026)
The announcement follows repeated attempts by Russia “to jam UK military satellites with ground-based systems every week,” he said, adding that Russia has also been shadowing Germany’s military satellites.
New, additional Space Command squadrons
Alongside the effects squadron, the UK plans additional squadrons, including a space tactics and training unit and another focused on delivering the deep space advanced radar capability, he said, which is being built with Australia and the US to monitor assets deep in space.
A new “space defence function”, working as part of a newly established integrated air, space, and missile defence operations centre, will also be launched.
Together these form an integral part of the UK’s Control of Space requirement, detailed in the UK’s Space Strategy published in September. The requirement aims to protect and deter threats through the effective use of space domain awareness, in-orbit servicing assembly and manufacturing capabilities.
UK Space Command and its associated space squadrons will operate under the newly established HQ Air and Space Command, based at RAF High Wycombe, which has been redesignated from Air Command to reflect the growing importance of space in defence.
ACM Sir Johnny Stringer, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe, also welcomed the new effects squadron at the conference, saying it “sets out the reality that's been there for many years, which is [that] a number of nations have got offensive space capabilities, they just didn't want to chat about it.”
For ACM Smyth, the priority now is delivery. “It is time for us to harness our resources. It is time to get moving. It's time to act, and it's time to deliver more meaningfully with our space capabilities.”
Olivia
Savage
Editor in Chief, DSEI Gateway
Olivia Savage is the Editor in Chief of Clarion Defence & Security, organisers of DSEI and other defence events. Previously, she was a Senior Defence Journalist at Janes, specialising in electronic warfare, uncrewed systems, and space.