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Skynet

Asked by James CartlidgeConservativeMinistry of DefenceTabled Answered 8 September 2025UIN 70768

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 49 of the Strategic Defence Review: Making Britain Safer: secure at home, strong abroad, published on 2 June 2025, when will the first departmental review of the (a) SKYNET 6A and (b) SKYNET 6EC satellite communications programmes (i) commence and (ii) conclude.

Answered by Luke Pollard

The Skynet 6 programme undergoes formal quarterly reviews and is subject to regular review by the National Infrastructure and Services Transformation Authority, the next is scheduled for November 2025. Those reviews consider the resilience and operational relevance of the planned Skynet 6A and EC capabilities, which are also continuously assessed against projected operational demands and emerging threats. Where necessary, adjustments are then made across the entire Ministry of Defence Space enterprise to both ground- and space-based elements.

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