Russia tries to jam the UK’s military satellites on a weekly basis, the head of the UK Space Command has said.
Major General Paul Tedman told the BBC Russia used ground-based systems in their efforts to interfere with the satellites.
He said the satellites had been fitted with counter-jamming technologies but this wasn’t putting the Russians off from making regular attempts.
When asked how often, Gen Tedman replied ‘weekly’.
The frequency has increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he added.
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Vladimir Putin’s military are also using their own satellites to stalk the UK’s to gain information, he said.
‘They’re interested in what we’re doing and flying relatively close,’ he told the broadcaster.
‘They’ve got payloads on board that can see our satellites and are trying to collect information from them.’
The UK has six military satellites in space, significantly less than the US, Russia and China who all have more than 100.
The latter two countries have seen their fleet of satellites increase by 70% in the last ten years.
According to Gen Tedman, Russia and China have both tested anti-satellite weapons, with the UK and the US previously having warned that Putin has been developing the capability to put nuclear weapons in space.
He said China had the greater capability to use the weapons on another nation, but Russia has more will to use them.
The general isn’t just concerned about weapons in space, but also the increasing congestion.
There are around 45,000 items in orbit, including 9,000 satellites. Around 300 rockets will have been launched into space this year alone.
Gen Tedman was speaking on a visit to RAF Fylingdales in north Yorkshire, which is home to Britain and the US’s shared Ballistic Missile Early Warning System.
There has been a system in place since 1962, originally three large radomes, or as they were often referred to, ‘golf balls’.
It was modernised in the 90s and now, the detection system is a 30m pyramid with thousands of antennas, called The Solid State Phased Array Radar.
It can detect missiles on earth and in space, as well as other airborne objects such as drones and ground-based targets up to 2,8000 nautical miles from its base.
The RAF are also connected to US satellites and sensors, which allow them to detect launches from anywhere in the world.
However, currently the UK is not well-equipped when it comes to ballistic missile defence.
The government has, however, said it plans to spend more in this area, as well as on defence in space.
On Friday, it announced it is investing in sensors that will help protect satellites ‘crucial to the economy and security’ from lasers.
Both China and Russia have developed lasers which could be used to dazzle and disrupt other nation’s satellites.
The UK spends 1% of its defence budget on space, compared to the US’s 5% and France’s 3%, the BBC reports.
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