British military is jamming enemy states' satellites from the ground — BBC

British military is jamming adversary states' satellites from the ground — BBC

The British military is using a ground-based satellite signal jamming system to counter threats from foreign satellites. This was reported by a BBC source in military circles.

According to the source, the British military has been using this system for a year. The system, among other things, prevents adversary states' satellites from tracking the movement of British submarines equipped with nuclear missiles or monitoring other secret operations involving special forces.

In recent years, the British government has been placing Russia and Iran first among adversary states.

Experts say that similar ground-based systems exist in several countries. Last year, the head of the UK Space Command said that Russia attempts to jam British satellite signals from the ground every week.

The BBC source noted that Britain's electronic warfare capabilities are "better than the best of their kind in the world."

Earlier, the Commander of the Royal Air Force said that Britain is facing unprecedented threats from space. The Ministry of Defence announced that it would establish a new unit — the Space Effects Squadron — to counter these threats.

In his speech at the British Space Conference, UK Defence Minister Wes Streeting said that in the event of a GPS signal loss, the country's economy would lose 1.4 billion pounds sterling, or about 1.85 billion dollars, every day.

"The more dependent we are on space technology, the more the threats in this area from our adversaries increase," Streeting said.

According to him, Britain relies on satellites in many areas, from weather forecasting and energy supply to financial transactions, satellite navigation, mobile communications, and even the delivery of Amazon orders.

Streeting believes that the sudden loss of these capabilities would not only seriously affect the daily lives of Britons, but could also weaken their trust in state institutions.

The Minister said that the threats to Britain from adversary states are becoming increasingly large-scale and complex. These challenges in space reflect geopolitical changes on Earth.

Last week, the US admitted for the first time that it had deployed a certain type of weapon in space to protect its satellites. China and Russia condemned this statement. However, the US has previously accused both countries of developing and deploying their own weapons in orbit. This refers to tools ranging from satellite signal jammers and lasers that disable their tracking capabilities to kinetic weapons designed to physically destroy targets.

In May 2026, the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) observed five Russian satellites performing a series of dangerous maneuvers close to two Finnish civilian satellites. In June, the RAF Commander announced that a group of Russian satellites had interfered with GPS signals in Europe and Canada.

Meanwhile, the British Defence Minister said that the number of "irresponsible and provocative actions" carried out by adversaries is increasing.

There are several British military intelligence and communication satellites in orbit. At the same time, the country works closely with the US Space Force — and the US has a much larger number of satellites.