Britain's satellite-watching gap to be plugged with £17.5M eyeball in Cyprus

No 1 Space Operations Squadron will get a persistent stare capability

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) plans to spend £17.5 million on a remotely-operated satellite monitoring facility in Cyprus, partly to protect the UK's secure communications system Skynet.

The facility, known as Noctis-2, will include an optical array and potentially an infrared telescope.

It will provide a "persistent stare capability" of the orbit used by geostationary satellites, broader monitoring of the skies and the ability to examine chosen objects, according to a preliminary market engagement notice published on 16 March.

Supporting documents for potential suppliers say the UK currently has "a capability gap" in terms of monitoring space, which it needs to protect assets including its Skynet secure communication satellites.

Noctis-2 will involve a large-scale electro-optical static array, remotely operated by the staff of No 1 Space Operations Squadron at RAF High Wycombe with data passed to the National Space Operating Centre.

The array will be in Cyprus, which is closer to the equator and has clearer skies than the UK.

It also includes two British overseas territories, including RAF Akrotiri – which earlier this month was hit by an attack drone.

In 2023, the MoD awarded London-based space technology company Spaceflux a contract to build a satellite-monitoring telescope on Cyprus, initially called Nyx Alpha but since renamed Noctis-1.

The supporting documents say the new project will improve on Noctis-1's ability to monitor low earth and geostationary orbits, which are urgently required given "the rapid rise in satellite numbers in recent years and the increasing complexity of adversary actions in space."

Suppliers will need to handle variable weather, wildlife, limited road access in the winter and restrictions on interfering with neighboring British-operated equipment. ®