The British military is using a ground-based system to jam or block satellites from other countries in order to protect itself from hostile threats.
The Royal Air Force has been using the system for about a year, and it has already been used to deter adversaries.
The system can prevent satellites operated by hostile countries from tracking the movement of British nuclear-armed submarines or other sensitive military operations, including those involving special forces. The BBC was told this by a source in the British defence establishment.
The use of the system comes as the UK establishes a new No. III Space Effects Squadron. The Royal Air Force unit is tasked with countering hostile activity in space and protecting British satellites.
According to the UK Ministry of Defence, the squadron will use advanced technologies, including electronic warfare capabilities, to disrupt, degrade and deny hostile activity in space. The unit will conduct both defensive and offensive space operations.
The UK also has several military satellites for surveillance and military communications and works closely with the US Space Force.
According to UK Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth, the British military is seeing an increasing number of actions by adversaries that he described as irresponsible and provocative.
British officials previously said that Russia had attempted to jam UK satellites using ground-based systems. According to the former head of UK Space Command, such attempts were taking place “every week.”
Last week, the US confirmed for the first time that it had deployed an unspecified “weapon” in space to protect its own satellites. China and Russia criticized the move, warning of a possible arms race in space.
