Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps UK Space Command is taking to coordinate with (a) other military and (b) civilian organisations to (i) increase the UK's space capabilities and (ii) help tackle potential threats to national space assets.

Collaboration with civil and international partners is fundamental to our delivery of the National Space Strategy and Defence Space Strategy (DSS).

Defence is developing new capabilities to support military operations and to protect and defend our national interests. We are investing £1.5 billion over 10 years in a coherent Defence Space Portfolio (DSP). This is in addition to the £5 billion we are investing in the SKYNET satellite communications programme.

In delivering the DSP, we are working with international Allies and partners to maximise interoperability and provide resilience in our joint pursuit of a safe and secure space domain. We are also partnering with commercial providers to deliver the Portfolio and with partners across Government to determine where dual-use capabilities can meet civil and defence needs.

The DSS commits us to broadening and deepening our multinational collaboration. As a founding member of the Combined Space Operations initiative (Five Eyes + France and Germany), we use this forum to align on space policy, capability development and operations. We are also working with NATO to grow the NATO Space Enterprise and we are developing new bilateral relationships.

The UK is showing global leadership on space security. Ministry of Defence is supporting the FCDO-led initiative through the UN on Reducing Space Threats through Norms, Rules and Principles of Responsible Behaviours. This is aimed at reducing the risk of miscalculation in the space domain.