
On 11th October 2021, the European multinational aerospace corporation, Airbus initiated the production of the introductory aluminium panel skin for the Skynet 6A military communications satellite at its facility in Stevenage, on an occasion in the presence of the UK’s minister of defence procurement Jeremy Quin.

Quin stated: “Secure military SATCOM is vital for our ability to conduct operations on a global scale.”
“Seeing the first hardware for the next-generation Skynet 6A satellite shows we are on track for launch in 2025 and ready to upgrade and enhance the UK’s global military communications network”, the minister added.

The international pioneer in the aerospace sector, Airbus in July 2020 secured the contract to design and develop Skynet 6A from the UK Ministry of Defence. In December 2020, the programme attained its Preliminary Design Review.
The design of the Skynet 6A satellite is rooted in the Airbus Eurostar Neo telecommunications spacecraft.
Richard Franklin, MD of Airbus Defence and Space, said: “The Company is looking at future export opportunities which will benefit the wider space ecosystem, while it is also actively engaged with bringing onboard a wider spread of UK SMEs to deliver this essential sovereign capability.”
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