Skynet 6 satellite contract: Airbus boss warns UK role in European space industry at risk
Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury has written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham warning that awarding the £2.4bn Skynet 6 military satellite contract to Lockheed Martin could cost the UK a key role in the European space industry.
Skynet 6 satellite contract: Airbus boss warns UK role in European space industry at risk
What the Skynet 6 contract covers
The Skynet 6 contract, worth £2.4bn, will decide who builds the satellites that carry the British armed forces' most sensitive communications up to 2042. The new generation replaces Skynet 5, which is operated by Airbus. The programme stretches back a long way: the first Skynet satellite was launched in 1969.
A government document for a related system also sets the security bar the satellites must meet, saying they must cope with the "proliferation of counterspace capabilities", including radio jamming, hacking and physical attacks.
Airbus's warning and Project Bromo
Faury's letter to the prime minister argues that the choice of provider for the Skynet system could affect the UK's strength in military satellites in Europe for decades. Senior industry figures have claimed that Airbus's UK satellite operations would not survive without the contract, and that the company might close its sites at Stevenage and Portsmouth, which employ 600 people.
The stakes reach beyond the contract itself. Airbus, Thales and Leonardo are working on a merger of their space subsidiaries, known as Project Bromo, intended to build a European champion able to rival leading US companies. Faury warned that if Airbus's British operation became unviable, the UK could miss out on being the European hub for military satellite communications after the merger. Airbus, headquartered in Toulouse, declined to comment.
Lockheed Martin's case and north-east backing
The rival bid includes a new factory in Durham, and politicians in north-east England have lobbied in its favour. Lockheed Martin says its UK subsidiary will have full control over the satellites eventually built in the UK, and people close to the company strongly denied that the US government would control them.
A spokesperson for the company said its British arm would set up facilities in the north-east of England with regional partners, building what the company calls a sovereign space capability for the UK. The spokesperson added:
"It will create jobs, supply chain opportunities and the potential for exports. It will have a UK design authority and a UK chief engineer."
Luke Akehurst, the Labour MP for North Durham, said the bid would mean a "state-of-the-art new manufacturing facility" and "a massive investment in the reindustrialisation of the north-east of England." North-east England mayor Kim McGuinness called it a potential "gamechanger" for the region: "If secured this investment would be a gamechanger for the space and security sector bringing £100m of investment and creating 500 high-skilled jobs," she said.
A decision still pending
No final decision appears to have been made. Several sources believed none had been taken, though some said they believed Lockheed Martin's bid was preferred by the Ministry of Defence. A decision had previously been expected in the summer, but it was delayed in part by Burnham's arrival in office.
The delay comes after Ukraine complained that its access to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite network was restricted, apparently at the behest of the US government - a backdrop that has raised questions over UK reliance on Washington. The union Unite warned against "handing the British space industry over to the Americans".
The final decision rests with Burnham and the chancellor, John Healey, who must weigh the two bids on their financial terms and the capabilities the two companies can offer.
