UK To Take Steps To Protect Against Russia And China Space Threats, Ben Wallace Says

The Defence Secretary says the UK will take measures to protect itself against military threats in space from Russia and China.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Ben Wallace said it would be part of a wide review into the country’s defences.

This, he said, would see the Ministry of Defence “pivoting away” from focusing on conventional warfare, to “operate much more in the newest domains of space, cyber and sub-sea”.

It comes after the UK and US accused Russia of testing an anti-satellite weapon in space. 

Mr Wallace said China is also “developing offensive space weapons”, prompting the most comprehensive review of Britain’s defence since the Cold War.

The Defence Secretary said the world is “moving at an unprecedented pace and our defence must move with it”.

He added: “Our adversaries go further, deeper and higher. The binary distinction between peace and war has vanished.”

MPs have delivered warnings that UK systems could be crippled by the type of anti-satellite weapon Russia is accused of firing. Moscow, however, has dismissed the accusation as “propaganda”.

Referring to the new battlegrounds of space, cyber and data, Mr Wallace said Britain must act to “outmanoeuvre our adversaries with a sharper technological edge and relentless focus on innovation”.

Cover image: Earth (Picture: UK Space Agency).