UK nears Skynet satellite contract decision, with Lockheed Martin reported as favoured over Airbus

Mixed · 2The Ministry of Defence is reported to be close to awarding the Skynet next-generation military satellite contract, worth up to £2bn according to GB News and £2.4bn according to the Guardian, to US contractor Lockheed Martin rather than Airbus. 1 2 Mixed · 2The decision rests with Prime Minister Andy Burnham; GB News says Downing Street has stepped in to examine the MoD's recommendation, while the Guardian says the final call lies with Burnham and the chancellor, John Healey. 1 2 Mixed · 2The Guardian's sources said no final decision had been made, though some believed the MoD preferred Lockheed Martin's bid. The MoD told GB News it had not reached a final decision and that both UK-based bidders were being fully evaluated. 2 1

Left · 1The Skynet 6 satellites would carry the British armed forces' most sensitive communications up to 2042, replacing the Airbus-operated Skynet 5 system. A decision had been expected in the summer and was delayed, in part by Burnham's arrival in office. 2 Left · 1Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury has reportedly written to Burnham warning that choosing Lockheed Martin could cost the UK a key role in the European space industry for decades. The Guardian says Airbus, Thales and Leonardo are working on a merger of their space businesses, known as Project Bromo, and that Faury is understood to have warned that a non-viable UK operation could leave the UK out of the chance to be the European hub for military satellite communications. 2 Mixed · 2Both outlets report job risks, with different figures. GB News says Airbus warned that up to 3,000 jobs at Stevenage could be threatened. The Guardian says senior industry figures have claimed Airbus's UK satellite operations would not be viable without the contract, which might close its Stevenage and Portsmouth sites, employing 600 people. 1 2

Right · 1Opponents of the Lockheed Martin bid raise sovereignty concerns centred on the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which GB News says let Washington block other nations from modifying, repairing or re-exporting US-supplied military equipment. An unnamed defence source told the Telegraph, as quoted by GB News, that the deal risked giving the White House a "kill switch", and analyst Francis Tusa said the satellites could be "switched off". 1 Mixed · 2The concerns have been heightened by reports that Ukraine's access to Elon Musk's Starlink network was restricted, apparently at the behest of the US government, according to the Guardian. GB News says Defence Secretary Wes Streeting reported being assured by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that Starlink access had been restored. Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge called for guaranteed UK sovereignty over Skynet. 2 1 Right · 1The MoD said the winning supplier must assemble, integrate and test the satellites in Britain and set up a UK-based "design authority" able to make modifications independently. It declined to say whether US-sourced components would fall under ITAR, though GB News says the contract is understood to include safeguards for operational independence. 1

Left · 1Lockheed Martin says it cannot comment on the live procurement but that Lockheed Martin UK, a British company, would build facilities in the north-east of England to provide a "sovereign space capability", with a UK design authority and chief engineer. The Guardian says people close to the company strongly deny that the US government would control the satellites. 2 Mixed · 2The bid includes a new factory, which GB News puts at £85m in the North East with about 500 jobs and the Guardian places in Durham. North Durham Labour MP Luke Akehurst and north-east mayor Kim McGuinness back it, and McGuinness cites £100m of investment and 500 skilled jobs. The union Unite has warned against "handing the British space industry over to the Americans". 1 2