British forces have used a ground-based, laser-equipped electronic warfare system for about a year to temporarily blind electro-optical sensors on foreign spy satellites, interrupting data transfers. Officials say the capability has protected submarines, special forces movements and military bases. The RAF has stood up a Space Effects Squadron to defend and deny hostile space threats, while ministers warn of growing risks to critical services such as GPS. Officials stress the measure is defensive and decline to name targeted countries.
Britain Secretly Uses Ground-Based Lasers To Temporarily Blind Enemy Spy Satellites
The British military has been covertly sabotaging the spying efforts of adversaries by jamming or blocking their satellites with a cutting-edge electronic warfare system for the past year, two leading U.K. media outlets reported Wednesday. File photo by Andy Rain/EPA
British military forces have spent the past year using a ground-based, laser-equipped electronic warfare capability to disrupt foreign reconnaissance satellites, senior defence sources told the BBC and The Telegraph.
What Happened
The classified system is intended to "deter our adversaries" by targeting the electro-optical sensors on spy satellites. By directing lasers at those sensors, the capability can momentarily "blind" imaging equipment and interrupt the flow of collected imagery and telemetry to ground stations.
Operational Use and Purpose
Officials say the system has been used in defensive operations to frustrate surveillance attempts against military bases and to reduce the risk of satellites tracking Britain’s nuclear-armed submarines and sensitive activities such as special forces missions. A senior defence source described the capability as "world leading" while declining to identify which countries’ satellites were affected.
"It is world leading and we have already used it to deter our adversaries," a senior defence source told The Telegraph.
Wider Context
The disclosure coincides with the Royal Air Force establishing a Space Effects Squadron (SES) to protect and, where necessary, "disrupt, degrade and deny" hostile threats in space. The Ministry of Defence says the SES will help defend UK early-warning satellites that scan for missile launches and will support communications and navigation for Royal Navy vessels.
In October, Maj. Gen. Paul Tedman, then head of U.K. Space Command, told officials that Russia is using similar ground-based measures to target U.K. satellites on a recurring basis. At the same time, U.K. officials said they do not plan to copy a recently announced U.S. orbital system that Washington described as a defensive "weapon"—a move criticised by Beijing and Moscow as potentially fuelling a space arms race.
Officials' Warnings
Speaking at the U.K. Space Conference in London, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting warned of an escalation in the "scale, speed and sophistication" of space threats, saying that geopolitical tensions are increasingly reflected in orbit. Streeting cautioned that attacks capable of crippling systems that run power networks, finance and navigation would pose a severe threat to public services and citizens' trust in institutions, and he cited an estimated daily economic impact of $1.85 billion if GPS systems were to fail.
Legal And Strategic Notes
The MoD framed the laser-equipped system as a defensive measure. Details about the technology, its rules of engagement and the identities of targeted satellites remain classified, and officials emphasise the system’s stated goal is deterrence rather than escalation.
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