Armed forces personnel will have access to the latest space-based imagery for military operations, following a deal signed for a new satellite, named Oberon.

The £125 million deal with Airbus’ Defence and Space division will support around 200 skilled jobs in Stevenage and Portsmouth, boosting the UK’s space sector and delivering on the government’s Plan for Change.

The Oberon satellite will be able to capture day and night-time images of the Earth’s surface, strengthening the UK’s Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. Expected to launch in 2026, Oberon will have advanced imagery sensors, building on the capabilities of Tyche, UK Space Command’s first satellite which successfully launched in August last year.

Paul Russell, Space team leader for DE&S said:

“This has been a superb team effort by members of DE&S, Space Command, DSTL and industry.

With the award of the Oberon contract, we will deliver the next in a series game changing capabilities to UK Space Command providing the UK military with leading Space Based Synthetic Aperture Radar whilst helping to keep our nation safe and prosperous.

We are looking forwards to working with Airbus as our Mission Partner to deliver this important capability together.”

The Oberon deal comes as UK Space Command has published the first images captured by Tyche.

The images of Heathrow Airport, Sydney, Washington DC, and the California wildfires.

Both satellites form part of the Ministry of Defence’s space-based Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance programme, known as ISTARI, which will deliver a constellation of satellites and supporting ground systems by 2031.

These satellites will support military operations, for instance by monitoring adversary activities, and contribute to other government tasks, including natural disaster monitoring, the development of mapping information, environmental monitoring and tracking the impact of climate change around the world.