Major Gen. Paul Tedman has been the commander of United Kingdom Space Command since 2024. Recently, he made a stark observation: if war breaks out in Europe, it is “highly likely” that the first assault on Britain will take place not on land, sea or air, but in space. Others, like Gen. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations of the United States Space Force, have highlighted the vital strategic importance of space, calling it a “warfighting domain.” These are clear-eyed assessments of the direction in which modern conflict is moving. But for all of our talk of space, we’re launching vast constellations of satellites with barely a plan for how to protect them. And that needs to change.

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Robert Brüll, is the CEO of FibreCoat, which manufactures super-resistant, radiation-shielding materials with applications in the space and defence industries.

Air Marshal Andrew Turner CB CBE, former Deputy Commander of the Royal Air Force and a key figure in the creation of UK Space Command, is CEO of Space4Sight and sits on industry advisory boards, including at NewSpace Capital.