"The UK must possess the capability to gain and maintain freedom of action and manoeuvre in, from, and through space; to protect and defend UK and allied space interests; and to deny adversaries the same freedoms – collectively described as the UK’s Control of Space Requirement," the 2027–2035 national space strategy states.
Strategy priorities: defence, national security and economic growth
Published today, the strategy frames Britain’s space efforts around three stated pillars: defence, national security and economic growth. Accompanying the policy is an interagency spending plan that commits “more than” £7.8 billion (about $10.6 billion) through 2030. The document places top priority on faster development in four named subsectors — satellite communications, space domain awareness, in-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM), and access to space — which it says were chosen for growth potential, economic contribution, and alignment with national security and defence priorities.
“Control of Space Requirement” and whole-of-government delivery
The strategy explicitly ties investments to what it calls the UK’s Control of Space Requirement: the ability to gain, maintain and deny freedom of action in space. It directs an “integrated, whole-of-government approach” to deliver that requirement, using “all orbital domains and military, diplomatic, regulatory and legal levers” to deter threats and protect UK and allied interests. To connect civil and defence workstreams, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade are to establish an integrated roadmap for ISAM, space domain awareness and space control, to be published in forthcoming updates to defence space policy.
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Get a security leadMinistry of Defence investments: £880 million for ISR and space control, plus wider novel-tech targets
The strategy stops short of publishing a comprehensive MoD total, but it does list several major programmes and envelopes. The largest MoD line detailed is a planned £880 million between 2026/2027 and 2029/2030 for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and space control activities. The technical annex says those funds will support development of “sovereign” space-based ISR systems and the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) space monitoring project carried out with the United States and Australia, and notes DARC construction in the UK is set to begin next year. The annex does not specify how that £880 million will be split between new ISR projects and DARC.
The document also reiterates continued investment in the £968 million ISTARI programme aimed at delivering a multi-satellite ISR constellation and associated ground systems by 2031. Separately, MoD plans to spend “at least” 10 percent of its annual Equipment Programme budget on novel technologies, and the strategy identifies £420 million specifically “to accelerate the delivery of innovative space capabilities.”
Space domain awareness: DARC, the National Space Operations Centre, and Borealis
Space domain awareness is a clear defence priority. In addition to DARC, MoD is tasked to work with civil agencies and to continue support for the National Space Operations Centre, which the strategy describes as jointly managed with the US Space Agency. MoD is also assigned sole responsibility for enhancements to the Borealis command, control and data processing system for the joint centre — upgrades intended to improve sensor tasking. Borealis was initiated in May with a £65 million contract awarded to CGI UK, the strategy notes.
UK Space Agency, ISAM and PNT roles
The documents assign roles across government. While MoD has responsibility for some ISAM development, the non-defence UK Space Agency is identified as the primary investor in commercial ISAM firms. The technical annex says government guidance will be published in 2026 to support ISAM and lunar missions and will draw on remote proximity operations (RPO) sandbox findings to enable UK innovation in Active Debris Removal and ISAM. On positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), most development activity is slated to be led by civilian agencies; MoD is to lead concept studies for technologies that would deliver global timing independent of and less susceptible to vulnerabilities in GPS and other Global Navigation Satellite Systems.
What this means for technologists, procurement officials, and defence planners
- Technologists: expect civil-led ISAM and PNT programmes to be the primary entry points for commercial innovation, with forthcoming 2026 guidance and RPO sandbox outcomes shaping investment and technical requirements.
- Procurement officials: the strategy signals multi-year envelopes (notably the £880 million ISR/space-control line and ISTARI’s £968 million) and explicit novel-technology targets (at least 10 percent of MoD’s Equipment Programme, including £420 million), which will shape contracting priorities through 2030 and to 2035 for capability objectives.
- Defence planners: the Control of Space Requirement and an integrated roadmap promise coordinated civil–defence activity in ISAM, SDA and space control; DARC construction starting next year and assigned upgrades to Borealis show trajectories for enhanced sensor coverage and command-and-control integration.
The strategy sets fiscal commitments through 2030 and capability aims through 2035, while identifying two near-term, concrete actions: publication of an integrated roadmap via defence space policy updates and government guidance in 2026 to support ISAM and lunar work that incorporates RPO sandbox findings. DARC construction in the UK is scheduled to begin next year, and MoD funding lines for ISR, ISTARI and novel technologies provide measurable markers for government priorities in the coming years.
https://breakingdefense.com/2026/09/defense-a-key-focus-for-new-uk-10-6b-4-year-space-spending-plan/
