--- title: The RAF launches a new space squadron to defend UK... description: The Royal Air Force has established No. III Space Effects Squadron, the UK's first unit dedicated to disrupting, degrading and denying threats to British... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/the-raf-launches-a-new-space-squadron-to-defend-uk-satellites-dv86vhiba twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: The RAF launches a new space squadron to defend UK satellites | daily.dev og:description: The Royal Air Force has established No. III Space Effects Squadron, the UK's first unit dedicated to disrupting, degrading and denying threats to British... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/the-raf-launches-a-new-space-squadron-to-defend-uk-satellites-dv86vhiba og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/DV86VHiba.png og:image:alt: The RAF launches a new space squadron to defend UK satellites og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # The RAF launches a new space squadron to defend UK satellites **[The Next Web](https://daily.dev/sources/tnw)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary The Royal Air Force has established No. III Space Effects Squadron, the UK's first unit dedicated to disrupting, degrading and denying threats to British satellites, using electronic warfare and other classified capabilities for both defensive and offensive operations. Announced by Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth at the UK Space Power Conference, the squadron joins two existing units that monitor space threats. The government has committed £880m from 2026/27 to 2029/30 for space surveillance and space control, part of a broader £7.8bn space strategy through 2030 covering defence, satellites and ESA participation. The UK maintains it supports peaceful use of space and has ruled out destructive anti-satellite missile tests. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is the RAF's No. III Space Effects Squadron responsible for? No. III Space Effects Squadron is the UK's first unit dedicated to disrupting, degrading and denying threats to British satellites, using advanced technology including electronic warfare. It supports both defensive and offensive space operations, joining No. I Space Operations Squadron and No. II Space Warning Squadron, which focus on monitoring threats rather than acting against them. Specific capabilities remain classified. _Those tracking defense and space tech developments can follow policy shifts like this on daily.dev._ ### How much funding has the UK committed to space defense capabilities? The UK government has set aside £880 million from 2026/27 to 2029/30 for space-based surveillance and space control capabilities, funding the growth of the new RAF space squadron. This sits within a broader £7.8 billion UK space strategy through 2030 covering defence, satellites, and European Space Agency participation. _Anyone following government tech investment trends can track stories like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [UK space strategy puts £7.8bn behind defence, satellites and ESA to 2030](https://daily.dev/posts/uk-space-strategy-puts-7-8bn-behind-defence-satellites-and-esa-to-2030-raeis08yb) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [For the first time, the US military confirms it has deployed weapons in orbit](https://daily.dev/posts/for-the-first-time-the-us-military-confirms-it-has-deployed-weapons-in-orbit-clvvoeckt) · Ars Technica · 1 upvotes · 2 comments - [Royal Navy races to arm ships against drone threat](https://daily.dev/posts/royal-navy-races-to-arm-ships-against-drone-threat-10eln2jga) · The Register · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [Space Force-backed mission does its best impression of Top Gun in orbit](https://daily.dev/posts/space-force-backed-mission-does-its-best-impression-of-top-gun-in-orbit-wm94hbn6x) · Ars Technica · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Rocket Lab wins another defense-related space contract](https://daily.dev/posts/rocket-lab-wins-another-defense-related-space-contract-1ipqwwx32) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/the-raf-launches-a-new-space-squadron-to-defend-uk-satellites-dv86vhiba) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"The RAF launches a new space squadron to defend UK satellites","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-raf-launches-a-new-space-squadron-to-defend-uk-satellites-dv86vhiba","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-raf-launches-a-new-space-squadron-to-defend-uk-satellites-dv86vhiba"},"datePublished":"2026-09-28T13:41:50.061Z","dateModified":"2026-09-28T13:42:50.721Z","description":"The Royal Air Force has established No. III Space Effects Squadron, the UK's first unit dedicated to disrupting, degrading and denying threats to British...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/cbe5b9d4007cb6ad49a143dde80e6148?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/cbe5b9d4007cb6ad49a143dde80e6148?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"The Next Web","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Next Web","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tnw","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tnw"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-raf-launches-a-new-space-squadron-to-defend-uk-satellites-dv86vhiba","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Next Web","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tnw"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The RAF launches a new space squadron to defend UK satellites"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-raf-launches-a-new-space-squadron-to-defend-uk-satellites-dv86vhiba#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the RAF's No. III Space Effects Squadron responsible for?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No. III Space Effects Squadron is the UK's first unit dedicated to disrupting, degrading and denying threats to British satellites, using advanced technology including electronic warfare. It supports both defensive and offensive space operations, joining No. I Space Operations Squadron and No. II Space Warning Squadron, which focus on monitoring threats rather than acting against them. Specific capabilities remain classified. Those tracking defense and space tech developments can follow policy shifts like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How much funding has the UK committed to space defense capabilities?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The UK government has set aside £880 million from 2026/27 to 2029/30 for space-based surveillance and space control capabilities, funding the growth of the new RAF space squadron. This sits within a broader £7.8 billion UK space strategy through 2030 covering defence, satellites, and European Space Agency participation. Anyone following government tech investment trends can track stories like this on daily.dev."}}]} ```