Security News > 2020 > November > UK reveals new 'National Cyber Force', announces Space Command and mysterious AI agency

The United Kingdom has announced £16.5 billion of new defence spending, some of which has gone towards a newly revealed National Cyber Force and some earmarked to create a Space Command and agency dedicated to AI. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's statement to the house about the new spending revealed that the nation has already created the Cyber Force.

Intelligence agency GCHQ has provided a little detail on the National Cyber Force's operations, saying it will provide unified operational command for personnel from the Ministry of Defence, GCHQ, the Secret Intelligence Service, and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.

Johnson's speech styled the space operation as the "Royal Air Force Space Command" and said its activities will include "Launching British satellites and our first rocket from Scotland in 2022.".

The Ministry of Defence's announcement labelled the agency "Space Command" and said it will "Protect the UK's interests in space and control the UK's first satellite launched from a UK rocket by 2022.".

Whatever the niceties of the agency, the plan for a 2022 launch of a domestic rocket from Scotland is plausible as approval has been granted to build a space port near Melness, and UK space startup Orbex has already booked half a dozen launch slots at the facility.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2020/11/20/uk_ai_space_cyber_agency/