United Kingdom Skynet military communications spacecraft fleet.
0 forecast rows linked to this constellation.
| Forecast entry | Year | Satellites | Orbit | Vehicle | Manufacturer | Mission | Launch likelihood |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 linked spacecraft shown.
No public forecast rows are currently linked to this constellation.
No public forecast rows are currently linked to this constellation.
| active |
| GEO |
| Mar 11, 2007 |
| Skynet 5B | active | GEO | Nov 14, 2007 |
| Skynet 5C | active | GEO | Jun 12, 2008 |
| Skynet 5D | active | GEO | Dec 19, 2012 |
| Skynet 4A | retired | GEO | Jan 1, 1990 |
| Skynet 4B | retired | GEO | Dec 11, 1988 |
| Skynet 4D | retired | GEO | Jan 10, 1998 |
| Skynet 4F | retired | GEO | Feb 7, 2001 |
| Skynet IA | retired | GEO | Nov 22, 1969 |
| Skynet IB | retired | HEO | Aug 19, 1970 |
| Skynet IIA | retired | LEO | Jan 19, 1974 |
| Skynet IIB | retired | GEO | Nov 23, 1974 |
Britain’s military on 2020-07-19 agreed to fully fund a gap-filler Skynet satellite under a 500-million-pound ($628,500,000) contract that covers the satellite’s manufacture, launch, and ground segment upgrades.
The Skynet-5 network consists of four X-band and Ultra-High-Frequency geostationary satellites.
The UK MOD launched the SDW competition on 5 November 2019 in support of the Skynet 6 programme.
The SDW programme will replace the current Skynet 5 contract that is scheduled to deliver SATCOM services to the UK MOD until August 2022.
The Skynet 6 Service Delivery Wrap contract is expected to be awarded in 2022.
The U.K. Ministry of Defence required contenders for the Skynet ground segment contract to sign nondisclosure agreements.
Viasat expects to complete the Skynet certification process for the AN/TSC-241 during December 2019.
The U.K. government is reluctant to commit to a single vendor for Skynet to avoid creating a monopoly.
The Skynet 6A contract, first announced in the summer of 2017, was expected to be finalized in mid-to-late 2019 after completion of an internal pricing review.
Skynet 6 is being developed to meet the U.K.’s military communications needs from 2025 to 2040.
Airbus Defence and Space is responsible for building a sole-sourced Skynet 6 satellite called Skynet 6A that is planned for launch in 2025.
The British Ministry of Defence is uncertain Skynet 6 will keep pace with rapidly developing commercial satellite technology.
Airbus built four Skynet 5 spacecraft that were launched between 2007 and 2012 as part of a $4,700,000,000 private finance initiative with the U.K. Ministry of Defence covering procurement and operation of satellites and ground stations.
The Skynet 5 private finance initiative with Airbus is scheduled to end on 31 August 2022.
The U.K. Ministry of Defence will award Airbus a sole-source contract for one Skynet-6A geostationary communications satellite.
Skynet 6 is an estimated $8,000,000,000 effort to modernize the satellite constellation that provides telecommunications for the U.K. military.
The U.K. Ministry of Defence is reluctant to commit to a single vendor for Skynet 6 because of concerns about creating a monopoly.
The sole-source decision for the Skynet 6A contract with Airbus is not being reversed, but the contract will not be signed until mid to late 2019 due to bureaucratic delays.
Satellite operators ordered seven geostationary communications satellites last year, or eight if including the un-competed Skynet-6A procured by Britain’s Ministry of Defence from Airbus.