Recommendation 14

HM Government Accepted

The MOD is committed to deepening international collaboration, working with Five Eyes partners and other like-minded nations bilaterally and multilaterally to share knowledge and experience and to ensure we provide resilience in our joint pursuit of a safe and secure space domain. We are a founding member of the seven-nation Combined Space Operations (CSpO) MOU, which we use as a forum to share knowledge on operations, policy and capabilities with like-minded responsible space nations. UK Space Command collaborates closely with bilateral partners, in particular the US. UK Space Command has Liaison Officers and Exchange Officers embedded within US Space Command, US Star Command, US Space Systems Command and in the US Space Force covering Operations, Plans and Capability. This provides valuable insight, influence and learning across the US Space enterprise and access to the US Space Development Agency, the US Space Rapid Capabilities Office and other US Space aligned departments. UK Space Command staff also benefit from US Space Force education and training courses, which has further developed the expertise of UK Defence personnel as well as generating a network of formal and informal relationships between the nations. The UK MOD and US Department of Defense signed a Statement of Intent on Enhancing Space Cooperation in December 2021. In support of this, UK Space Command has implemented several arrangements, including a Bilateral Framework with the US Space Force, which formalises collaboration across organisational structures, training of personnel and acquiring new capability, and an Enhanced Space Cooperation MOU with US Space Command. The latter is the most comprehensive defence space arrangement signed yet between the UK and the US, and the basis for a number of new and developing areas of cooperation. Terms of Reference with the Republic of Korea Air Force and Australian Defence Space Command have also been signed, outlining future cooperation in areas such as information-sharing, collaborative training, and personnel exchanges. The UK also supports the NATO Space Enterprise by providing operational products from the UK Space Operations Centre (UKSpOC) to meet NATO’s Space Support requests where we are also providing space Subject Matter Experts to support NATO exercises. The UK also currently holds a Branch Head role in that organisation.