UK military air chief warns space now 'warfighting' frontier

Space has become "a warfighting domain" and Britain and its Western allies must ramp up their capabilities to counter growing threats, the UK's top air force commander said Wednesday.

Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth made the stark warning as he announced the creation of a new squadron charged with defending British satellites in orbit, the latest move as various countries rush for military space capacities.

The announcement comes just over a week after the United States confirmed for the first time that it has weapons deployed orbiting Earth, sparking fears of an arms race in space.

It prompted China to warn against turning outer space into a "battlefield" and Russia to caution it must be "free from any weapon".

But Smyth, head of the Royal Air Force (RAF) since August 2025, said Western allies were seeing "more and more irresponsible and provocative actions" from rivals in space, namechecking Russia for a number of "dangerous" incidents.

"Space has become a warfighting domain, whether we like that or not, and the UK as well as its partners and allies must be prepared for this," he told the UK Space Power Conference in London.

"It is time for us to harness our resources ... and it's time to deliver more meaningfully with our space capabilities."

'Flagrant disregard'

London created UK Space Command in April 2021, so commanders from the RAF, Royal Navy and Army can jointly run military strategy, operations and capabilities beyond Earth.

That came 16 months after Washington established the US Space Force as the sixth branch of its armed forces.

Outer space has become an increasingly strategic domain for global powers in the military and technology fields, with the West increasingly vying with China and Russia for supremacy.

In his speech, Smyth accused Moscow of a "flagrant disregard of the norms for responsible behaviour by spacefaring nations" after several incidents.

They included five Russian military satellites allegedly moving dangerously close to two Finnish commercial satellites in May.

Meanwhile in June, Smyth said it was confirmed that "a Russian satellite constellation" had caused disruptions to GPS signals across Europe, Greenland, and Canada over at least 75 days since 2019.

The disclosures follow the then-head of UK Space Command warning last year that Russia was regularly attempting to jam British military satellites.

Major General Paul Tedman noted at the time that Britain was operating six dedicated military satellites for communications and surveillance, which were equipped with counter-jamming technology.

'Avoid escalation'

The new RAF unit -- to be known as No. III Space Effects Squadron -- will protect critical satellites used in communications and to warn of incoming missile attacks.

The UK created two squadrons in 2023 that "watch and warn" of space threats but the latest will "act against those threats, using advanced technology, including electronic warfare," according to the defence ministry.

It will be staffed by specialist personnel from across the defence sector, and "support offensive and defensive space operations," Smyth noted.

He revealed the RAF has three more units planned, including a space tactics and training squadron and another to deliver deep space advanced radar capabilities.

The air chief said London has also been stepping up collaboration with Western allies, including through the multinational US Space Force-led Joint Commercial Operations initiative, which detects and predicts space threats.

The developments across the domain are being driven by rapid technological advancements but currently lack a comprehensive legal framework.

Smyth insisted "no one wants a war in space" and that Britain and its allies were "positioning to deter this".

"The UK will always operate responsibly in ways that promote stability and avoid escalation," he argued.