Babcock has been awarded the contract to manage and operate Skynet, the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) satellite communications system dedicated to military use.
The six-year contract has an initial worth exceeding £400 million and is a vital aspect of the MOD’s Skynet 6 program, which has an overall budget of £6 billion.
The contract will safeguard more than 400 jobs in the southwestern region of the United Kingdom.
The Skynet Service Delivery Wrap (SDW) will manage the entire operation of the UK’s military satellite constellation and ground stations, including integrating terminals into the MOD network and providing comprehensive support services.
Babcock has formed a partnership with SES, GovSat, and Intelsat to deliver Skynet SDW, enabling them to leverage the technological capabilities of these respected companies.
David Lockwood, CEO for Babcock, said in a press release:
“We are delighted to have been chosen to support this world-leading technological safeguard. Skynet enables vital communications to the UK Armed Forces wherever they are, helping to keep them safe. Babcock is a world leader in secure communications for the military. Together with our partners, we will provide a high-tech solution which combines the availability, affordability and capability that the UK needs.”
Alex Chalk, Defence Procurement Minister, also said:
“Space is increasingly important for maintaining battlefield advantage. The UK’s next generation military satellite communications system will keep us at the forefront of this critical domain and the work under this contract will bolster our resilience for years to come.”
Skynet has been in service since the 1960s – with the first satellite of the sixth Skynet generation satellite, Skynet 6A, set to be launched in 2025. The contract includes the services necessary to support the current Skynet infrastructure, as well as the successful transition and continuous delivery of service for future Skynet operations.
Babcock really giving BAE and Airbus a run for their money these days. I was really hoping something may have come out of our acquisition of One Web, skynets great however a handful of very expensive satellites in GEO stationary orbit is vulnerable and Ukraine is showing the impact something like Starlink can have on the ground. Being the only western government that owned a LEO satellite constellation could have been a big boost for UK soft and Hard power but now we have sold it to the French and Chinese. F**king UK government, grew a pair of balls for… Read more »
100% agree. That initial bold, and in defence terms relatively cheap, investment in OneWeb offered the UK the opportunity to deploy a hugely valuable and forward looking asset with robust government control (veto on new shareholders & potential customers) but then our idiotic short-sighted government bottled it. Grrrrrrrr…
UK retains as ‘Golden’ share which gives it a veto on shareholders and security policies.
When did that sale occur I must have missed it …Why exactly did they sell it …and why to The Chinese of all people ? I’m sure there’s some rationale explanation,or someone made some money-one or the other, not sure which…
This makes for interesting reading given the recent balloon saga. China Has an Extensive Satellite Network. Here’s Why It Would Use a Balloon to Spy “The earliest military application of a balloon is often credited to Zhuge Liang, a well-known war strategist in dynastic China. That was in the 3rd century, when he used kerosene-doused cloth to propel a sky lantern that alerted allies in neighbouring cities of a looming attack. In almost two thousand years since, balloon technology advanced and was used increasingly for reconnaissance missions during wars in the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during the cold… Read more »
https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/frances-eutelsat-talks-over-possible-merger-with-uk-satellite-operator-oneweb-2022-07-25/
The UK government remains a shareholder in OneWeb and, more importantly, holds a “Golden’” share in the business which leaves it with the ability to control who owns it, where it is based and what and how it operates from a security perspective.
I thought it was the Indians – Bharti Global, not the Chinese?
Apart from that in full agreement – we still need a Govt capable of operating in a post-Brexit world, pursuing national interest where necessary.
Looking through the history I believe that they have agreed to a merger but this was only agreed mid 2022 and so they are probably still working through the details. From what I can tell its a merger rather than a sale with 50/50 split so UK government still very much involved. Chinese banks are involved on the French side so maybe the merger won’t even go through???
Better not do, I’ve no problem with working with the French militarily, but not the Chinese…
Both India and China own shares now.
The Indian company helped fund the purchase along with UK Gov and Eutelsat. As far as I can see Chinese interest is from finance assistance to Eutelsat and so this was the case when the company was brought in 2021. I would hope that if we continue to invest in it then we would be keeping an eye on any Chinese government involvement?
Dreadful, awful name!!! PR nightmare.
If anyone is going to end the world it might as well be us.
Maybe the killer robots will go a bit easy on us?
It’s all well and good until someone develops an ASAT missile and dubs it “John Connor.”
Skynet… the fact that people thought this to be a credible high tec name. 😂
In 1962, before Hollywood nabbed the name, it probably was.
That’s interesting. When SpaceCom was formed one of the points highlighted was that Skynet would be brought back under MoD/military control. So was not expecting this Babcock news.
I’m sure SpaceCom main role will be to create the properly formatted four letter acronyms for multiple programs that never actually happen rather than actually controlling any objects in space in addition to ensure their is sufficient “representation” of former military officers and civil servants on the boards of space companies. 😀
Sadly, I tend to agree. 🙄
Any ideas why thats not been implemented and a private company has been tasked with its provision now then- apart from the obvious…money?
tbh I’m not too sure of the demarkation of duties and responsibilties here ….is it just the instrastructure Babcock will be responsible for (akin to specialist engineers no longer being part of the Navy… I think??) or will they provide/support & operate the whole kit & caboodle – as a distinct service?
scrap that ive re-read the article it seems its the whole lot …including intergration of terminals into the MOD network!
I hope they have their virus guard updated..and don’t use Lenovo (or Huwai) kit…..
I did wonder whether you were correct and it was just the operation of the sites with ops under military / MoD.
To be fair the GOSCC at Corsham seems to operate with a mix of contractors, MoD, and military so maybe it will be the same here.
The name “Skynet” is a lot older than the Terminator films. Satellites were first up in the 60s… Hollywood copying the UK of course 🙂
…and a bit like HMS Enterprise 🙂