Airbus warns UK risks European space role if Skynet deal goes to Lockheed Martin
Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham warning that awarding Britain's next military communications satellites to Lockheed Martin could cost the UK a key role in the European space industry. Faury suggested the choice of Skynet provider could affect the country's strength in military satellites in Europe for decades to come, The Guardian reported.
Skynet 6 is the next generation of satellites that will carry the British armed forces' most sensitive communications up to 2042. It will replace the Skynet 5 system operated by Airbus. The procurement process for part of the programme, known as Skynet 6 WSS, began in May 2023 with initial bids from Airbus Defence & Space UK and Lockheed Martin UK.
Lockheed Martin's bid would include a new factory in Durham in north-east England to assemble the satellites. The proposal involves an £85m plant and roughly 500 new jobs, GB News reported. The Ministry of Defence has pushed to buy the new generation of satellites from the US company in a prospective deal previously reported as worth up to £2bn, The Telegraph reported.
The contract value cited in the most recent reporting is £2.4bn. Airbus has satellite sites at Stevenage and Portsmouth employing 600 people. The company is working with Thales and Leonardo on a plan known as Project Bromo to combine their space subsidiaries, a context for Faury's argument about Europe.
The final decision will rest with Burnham and Chancellor John Healey. They have faced other calls to select Airbus, including a warning from the Royal Aeronautical Society about handing over contracts for military satellites and an open letter from The News and Portsmouth City Council backing Airbus for Skynet 6. Separately, a Skynet 6A satellite is already being developed and manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space UK and is scheduled for launch by SpaceX in 2027, according to UK government guidance.
