U.K. Defense Secretary Urges Investment in Satellite Intelligence Capabilities

U.K. Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said satellites are critical to intelligence gathering and missile warnings and now underpin nearly a fifth of the U.K. economy. He warned that losing GPS alone would cost the economy £1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) a day, while combined Chinese and Russian satellite fleets grew 70% between 2019 and 2021.

• Loss of GPS would cost the U.K. economy £1.4 billion a day
• Satellites underpin almost 20% of the U.K. economy
• Chinese and Russian satellite fleets grew 70% in 2019-2021
• Two Russian satellites intercepted comms of over 10 European ones