Skynet

Skynet 5 - Highly resilient, highly secure

In the UK, Airbus is the Ministry of Defence’s trusted partner for space and leader in sovereign military satellite communications. 

The world leading service

A hardened X-band constellation of satellites and accompanying ground network, SKYNET provides all Beyond Line of Sight communications to the UK military. SKYNET is a world-leading end-to-end service, providing multi-domain integration to UK forces that ensures they get the right information at the right time.

Secure voice and data to anywhere in the world

Highly resilient and highly secure, SKYNET meets the toughest standards set by the UK Ministry of Defence. Users benefit from a full spectrum of interfaces that enable secure voice and data across networks and point-to-point services, with an unrivalled level of encryption.

For over 18 years, the Airbus SKYNET team delivered the MilSatCom programme in peacetime and conflict. Some were awarded operational medals by the UK military for on-the-ground support in Iraq and Afghanistan. Throughout the partnership with the UK government, the SKYNET programme was  updated and refreshed to keep it reliable, resilient and futureproof.

Skynet 6A

In July 2020, the MOD contracted Airbus to enhance the SKYNET fleet and build the Skynet 6A satellite. This new contract also covers technology development programmes, new secure telemetry, tracking and command systems, for the current Skynet 5 system.