TOBIAS ELLWOOD on how Britain needs a new arm of the RAF

‘It is the ideal vantage point to observe, confuse or even kill the enemy below’: TOBIAS ELLWOOD on how Britain needs a new arm of the RAF to stop China and Russia colonising space

When Neil Armstrong took that small first step on the Moon 50 years ago, his ‘giant leap for mankind’ was described as a breathtaking triumph for the human spirit.

As a grinning President Nixon said in a phone call to the astronauts: ‘For one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all the people on this Earth are truly one.’

There was rather more to it than that, of course. Indeed, the 1969 Moon landing was a clear statement of economic and military power at the height of the Cold War, a decisive move in the Space Race between America and Russia, and one that had swallowed billions of dollars.

Nixon went on to say this: ‘Because of what you have done, the heavens have become part of man’s world.’ And how prescient he was. Thanks to the relentless march of ever cheaper, more advanced technology, dozens of countries now have space programmes.

The result is a 21st Century Space Race, with many more players and an ever-growing possibility that the satellite technology we all rely on for the internet, smartphones, GPS and defence could be brought crashing down around our ears.

In the absence of agreed rules, and with dozens of state and private-sector operators competing, it’s getting very busy up there. And some political agendas are decidedly opaque.

Britain must join France and the US in creating a UK Space Command to sit under the umbrella of the RAF, argues former Conservative defence minister Tobias Ellwood (pictured)

China, for example, has joined the Space Race with a worrying bang. In 2007, it shot a missile at a redundant weather satellite, breaking it into hundreds of pieces, many of which can be tracked as space debris even today.

Beijing has invested huge sums in space ports, rockets, human flight, satellite networks and space stations. It is believed China’s annual space budget is at least half of Nasa’s $17 billion a year, and the investment is already paying dividends.

Earlier this year, China became the first to land on the far side of the Moon which, because it never faces the Earth, is well beyond the scrutiny of international eyes.

In the West, the current impetus is commercial. But as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson compete to send tourists into space, Russia and China have more clandestine intentions. Space is the ideal vantage point to observe, confuse, blind, deafen or even kill your enemy below.

Ronald Reagan’s much-derided Star Wars initiative of the 1970s may have been far in advance of the existing technology, but that technology is no longer the stuff of science fiction – and it is high time Britain woke up.

Satellites are so integral to civilian, commercial, and military life that a total or partial loss of use would impact our lives both instantly and dramatically, destroying our ability to communicate, share information, conduct transactions, use the internet, fly planes or predict the weather.

Loss of the Global Positioning System (GPS) would cripple navigation and cause synchronisation problems across all modern industries, because of the loss of its role regulating computerised clocks and ‘universal time’ – vital for everything, from machining, electricity production, food distribution and financial transactions. Without GPS, our military would lose sight of both enemy and friendly forces, as well as rendering unmanned vehicles, smart missiles and early-warning systems useless.

In military terms, space has become the ultimate ‘high ground’ that brings dominance over the land below. Both Russia and China now regard space as a fighting domain, and are even creating aerospace forces. Russia’s MiG-31 fighter, which can fly 15.5 miles above the Earth, will soon be armed with anti-satellite missiles.

Since the Cold War, Russia has been developing a range of weapons systems with varying levels of success, including orbiting space stations armed with cannons, direct energy weapons using high-power microwaves or lasers, and also kamikaze-style satellites, which can be instructed to destroy those belonging to the enemy.

It is now creating subtler space weapons, which can covertly damage a rival country’s satellites, thus creating economic chaos and political instability.

Attacks could be extremely difficult to trace. A laser weapon, for example, could be used to damage optical sensors on a rival satellite, ‘blinding’ it and thereby rendering it useless, but with no sign of who was responsible.

China’s intentions are also raising eyebrows. Beijing says its far-side lunar landing was for the benefit of all of humanity, but it is clear it has intentions to robotically mine mineral elements that are in short supply here on Earth.

The Moon is a potential treasure-trove of priceless resources, including helium-3, which is found in the lunar soil and is a potential future energy source for further space exploration. The lunar poles are suspected to contain sub-surface ice. Would China share this precious, life-sustaining asset with other lunar missions?

Tobias Ellwood warns of a ’21st Century Space Race with an ever-growing possibility that the satellite technology we all rely on for the internet, smartphones, GPS and defence could be brought crashing down around our ears’

It is important that our Government acts, and quickly.

Firstly, we must develop resilient systems that enable early detection of satellite disruption and effectively deal with the aftermath. Given how dependent we have become on space services, this is also in our commercial interests.

We already have the expertise. The £400 billion space industry is one of the fastest-growing economic sectors, with British companies responsible for about ten per cent of global turnover. Furthermore, one in four telecoms satellites contains British components.

Secondly, this political intent must be backed by increased defence spending. As current tensions in the Strait of Hormuz starkly illustrate, our defence budget is struggling to cope with present-day threats.

If we are to expand our defensive capabilities to deal with tomorrow’s cyber and space threats, we must increase defence spending towards three per cent of GDP over the life of Parliament.

This would take us from £40 billion to £60 billion, but because it would include investment in our industrial base, it would be economically viable. We spent four per cent of GDP on defence in the Cold War.

At today’s levels of spending, the UK will soon be overtaken by France and Germany. America, in comparison, spends £538 billion.

Thirdly, we must join France and the US in creating a UK Space Command to sit under the umbrella of the RAF, enhancing our ability to monitor hostile activity, defend our space assets and, if necessary, launch attacks.

This new command would send a powerful message to friend and foe alike that Britain’s hard-earned reputation of stepping forward on the international stage as a force for good is set to continue in this new technological age.

Finally, Britain has the global reach and reputation for defending the rule of law to lead a crucial international debate on setting new rules for space.

As Neil Armstrong suggested 50 years ago, space should be a global endeavour that benefits all mankind. This new age of exploration demands wise leadership, collaboration and, critically, enforceable governance. Britain should be helping to shape the new rules of space before it’s too late. Failure could be catastrophic for all of us. 

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