The NATO Allied Command Transformation and NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) launched a new independent research project on Oct. 17 with the RAND Corp. to examine how to streamline the alliance’s cyber capability development and acquisition process, NCIA said Oct. 18

NATO said the project aims to define the challenges NATO faces as it adjusts its cyber acquisition processes and to make recommendations on how to address them.

The NATO-RAND project will include activities required to develop a report on the “Improvement of NATO Cyber Capability Fielding Process.” This includes analyzing current NATO cyber capability development policy; processes and practices and proposing short and long-term actions with a goal of permanent innovation; continuous engagement with industry and academia; and rapid identification of new requirements and acquisition of solutions, NCIA said.

“In an environment where technological advances move at pace, it is critical that NATO is able to field capabilities which are current and flexible. We are confident our research will identify options to help NATO meet this challenge–both now and in the future,” Hans Pung, president of RAND Europe, said in a statement.

“Through our work at ACT, we have already concluded we need a revised acquisition process that delegates authority, manages risk as opposed to eliminating it, and rewards quick delivery. This cyber acquisition study—unprecedented in scope—is a critical step toward achieving those aims, and I am pleased that RAND will lead it,” Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Lofgren, Deputy Chief of Staff for Capability Development at NATO’s Allied Command Transformation (ACT), added. 

Koen Gijsbers, the general manager of NCIA, explained that quick growth in commercial innovation with military applications in the cyber domain combined with the gravity and faster evolving nature of cyber threats are all driving the need to re-think how NATO acquires cyber capabilities.

“We very much look forward not only to the results of the study, but also to implementing recommendations to make our cyber acquisition process faster, more innovative, and more flexible so we can fully tap the innovative capacity of large and small companies and academia across the Alliance in support of NATO cyber defense,” he said in a statement

The final report is expected in January 2017.

The United States and South Korea have agreed to set up an “integrated research team” to explore specific steps they can take together to counter increasing maritime threats posed by North Korea, a South Korean official said Oct. 20.

The bilateral team will include representatives from South Korea’s defense ministry, joint chiefs of staff and navy and be stood up early in 2017, South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo said through a translator.

The need for such cooperation was highlighted by the launch of a missile from a North Korean submarine in August, Han said at the Pentagon, where he and Defense Secretary Ash Carter held a joint press briefing.

“There are a number of ways in which naval cooperation can strengthen the alliance in general and the ability to respond to provocations and to conflict,” Carter told reporters. “Naval cooperation is very important, even as we have great cooperation already in our navies, in the air, on land and expanding into cyberspace.”

Carter and Han did not directly answer a question about South Korean press reports that Seoul is considering buying the Raytheon [RTN] Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor for its destroyers to provide a sea-based missile defense capability.

The Carter-Han press briefing came a day after Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States would deploy a land-based Lockheed Martin [LMT] Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to South Korea “as soon as possible.” The THAAD deployment, announced in July, is designed to protect against North Korean ballistic missiles.

Turning to cyberspace, Han said the U.S. and South Korean militaries have agreed to enhance cyber cooperation in response to North Korean attacks and threats. A bilateral task force is expected to propose specific measures in this area.

Dillon Aero has developed a maritime, corrosion-resistant version of its M134D minigun in an attempt to make a dent in the Asian market, according to a company official.

Dillon Aero International Business Development Director Randy Nance told sister publication Defense Daily Oct. 4 that the Pacific Rim market is a growth opportunity for the company as there is big demand for coastal security. Nance said Oct. 19 in an email that the marinized version of the M134D, the M134D-M, came about after numerous requests and inquiries for a system that would stand up to the salt and open air environments like those found in southeast Asia.

Dillon Aero is well-known for its M134D minigun, a six-barrel, electrically-fed weapon that Nance said shoots 50 .762 caliber rounds per second, or 3,000 per minute. Nance said the M134D is used by U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Many of the gun components of the M134D-M, including the barrels, will be coated with Cerakote, a polymer-ceramic composite coating that can be applied to plastics, polymers and wood.

The hardware in the M134D-M will be stainless steel and/or treated for resistance to corrosion. The marinized M134D has been tested in accordance with MIL-STD-810G, method 509.5 salt fog and will consist of: marinized clutch assembly, feeder/delinker, heavy barrels, gun assembly, brass/link exhaust, booster assembly and ammunition can. It will also feature a titanium rotor assembly.

Nance, at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) trade show in Washington, said he believes the M134D-M will have good application for Pacific Rim use as maritime forces have had issues with .50 caliber rounds. These rounds, he said, go through the boat they are shooting at or trying to defend against because there is nothing to stop the round. Nance said, on the other hand, the .762 round will hit the target and stop, it won’t penetrate and continue. Nance said this also makes the .762 round good for use around civilians.

Nance said in his email that the company rolled out the final version of the M134D-M for production in the May/June timeframe and is currently fielding a number of requests for quotes for the weapon. He said the M134D-M will be a big seller in Asian markets as Dillon Aero believes no other weapon system can provide the accuracy, reliability or low cost of ownership as the M134D, in addition to the corrosion resistant feature many users are looking for. Nance said, with proper maintenance, the M134D can fire 2.5 million rounds between replacement and that the company has miniguns in service that were sold between 10 and 13 years ago.

Dillon Aero has also teamed with Norwegian-manufacturer Kongsberg to create a maritime remote weapon station (RWS) featuring Dillon Aero’s M134D that can be fired from a distance or within a boat or vehicle. RWSs are attractive, for example, because a gunner can stay protected and fire the weapon as opposed the traditional method of firing the gun, by standing out of the vehicle or boat, leaving the gunner exposed to enemy fire.

Nance said Dillon Aero has been approached by other companies looking to use its M134D in a RWS, but the company is picky because the integration of the minigun into a RWS can be difficult. Though Dillon Aero has chosen to only work with Kongsberg so far, Nance said Dillon Aero might be open to working with other companies in the future. He said other companies that develop RWS include Rafael and IMI Systems, formerly known as Israel Military Industries, among others.

Saab AB has acquired the Danish naval company Nordic Defence Industries (NDI), Saab said Oct. 18.

NDI specializes in designing and manufacturing mine disposal charge systems for the naval defense industry. Saab said acquiring the company develops its market leadership in the unmanned underwater domain, so customers can use Saab for end-to-end solutions to meet Mine Counter Measures (MCMC) needs to detect, classify, identify, and dispose of maritime mines.

NDI will be integrated into Saab’s dynamics business area within the underwater systems business unit.

Under the new ownership, NDI’s main office, workshops, and staff will remain in Aalborg, Denmark.

“With the acquisition we are strengthening our position in the Mine Counter Measures market, building a foundation for continued profitable growth. Our regional footprint will be strengthened as well as our role as a global supplier of Mine Counter Measure solutions,” Görgen Johansson, head of Saab’s dynamics business area, said in a statement.

“With the high tech solutions for mine disposal provided by NDI we will have a product portfolio that covers the total need among our Mine Counter Measure customers,” he added.

“After more than 20 successful years in the defence industry, with the challenges inherent from being a small stand-alone defence company, I am pleased to see new and exciting possibilities arise for NDI from the upcoming integration with Saab,” Jess Otzen, owner and managing director of NDI, said.

The Maryland Department of Commerce signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Oct. 13 with two economic development agencies in The Netherlands to begin a Maryland-Netherlands Cyber and Security Technologies Soft Landing Platform, the department said Oct. 14.

The agreement was signed between Maryland and The Hague Security Delta (HSD) as well as InnovationQuarter, the regional economic development agency for the Zuid-Holland province. The soft landing program will allow Maryland cybersecurity companies to explore the Dutch market and Dutch cybersecurity companies to set up operations in Maryland on a trial basis.

The agreement lasts for three years and was signed at The Netherlands’ ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C. The signatories were Maryland Deputy Secretary for Commerce Ben Wu, HSD Executive Director Richard Franken, and InnovationQuarter Director of Foreign Investments Chris van Voorden.

Maryland highlighted this is the first agreement of its kind for the state, which will provide participants with up to three months of incubation and mentorship services as well as help them connect with additional resources and partners.

Dutch companies that participate in the process will spend time incubating at facilities like bwtech@UMBC. Following the initial trial period from January to March 2017, participants can choose to establish a permanent presence in Maryland or The Netherlands, the department said.

“Maryland is the ideal place for foreign cybersecurity companies to establish operations as they explore the U.S market. We are home to many key federal agencies, including the National Security Agency and the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, as well as a critical mass of successful information technology and cybersecurity companies, and a highly-skilled and talented workforce,” Maryland Commerce Secretary Mike Gill, said in a statement.

Franken noted that the HSD is the largest security cluster of Europe and an ideal place for companies to “soft land.” “The cluster comprises many companies, knowledge institutes, and government organizations and provides access to market, talent, innovation, knowledge, capital, events and education,” he added.

Van Voorden also welcomed security tech companies to use the program. “They can come for a week or even stay for three consecutive months in bwtech or HSD. We will make sure every company receives a tailor-made program in which they will meet our partners and get connected to the right business environment.”

Fortinet [FTNT] announced the opening of its new FortiCloud European data center in Germany, the company said Oct. 17.

This new data center is meant to offer the company’s broad Security-as-a-Service (SAAS) cybersecurity portfolio while giving European clients confidence that the data remains within European borders.

Fortinet said the data center addresses privacy concerns and reduced compliance burdens, so enterprises in the European Union (EU) can adopt cloud-based security solutions in the Fortinet Security Fabric. The security fabric combines traditionally autonomous systems into a single architecture that scales to cover an entire organization and across several attack vectors.

The data center will primarily let European Fortinet customers implement protections in the security fabric while also having the flexibility to select a deployment model that best fits individual business goals, the company said.

“Competing in today’s digital economy requires businesses of all sizes to be agile, lean and scalable at a global level, which is why so many look at cloud-based services. However, concerns about data security and privacy can often be perceived as a barrier to the adoption of such services,” Michael Xie, founder, president, and chief technology officer (CTO) of Fortinet, said in a statement.

“Fortinet built our new European cloud data center to eliminate these barriers and enable European business to adopt security solutions delivered from the cloud in the EU and enable their growth,” he added.

The company’s FortiCloud and ForiSandbox Cloud solutions hosted in the European data center are currently available as of the opening announcement.

Saab AB signed a contract with SIMMAD (integrated structure for the operational maintenance of the aeronautics equipment of the French Ministry of Defense) Giraffe AMB spare parts and support contract, the company said Oct. 19.

The contracts calls for an ordering period of 17 months and a period of performance if 34 months, which began on Aug. 8, 2016. The contract also includes obsolescence management.

The Giraffe AMB radar system is part of Saab’s Giraffe radar product family that provide very short to long range air and sea coverage.

The company also highlighted a Saab team has been participating in France’s Giraffe Air detachment committed in the CASEX 16 exercise in the military camp of Valdahon.

The Saab team was invited to support and monitor how the French Air Force uses the Giraffe AMB radar and C2 shelter, the company said.

“The recently awarded spares and support contract, as well as participating in CASEX 16, is important for Saab in providing continued support and presence in France,” Henrik Vassallo, head of Saab’s France and Benelux country unit, said in a statement.

The Unmanned Warrior exercise taking place this month off the coast of western Scotland has demonstrated the ability of unmanned vehicles in three domains and from multiple nations to collaborate, U.S. Navy participants said Oct. 14.

As many as 10 unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) from Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom have operated together, tasking each other to conduct surveillance of targets of interest, said Marcus Tepaske, global science adviser at the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the U.S. technical lead for the first-ever Unmanned Warrior.

“It’s really groundbreaking,” Tepaske told reporters. “It seems like every day they’re adding another system in there, so every day it’s a world first.”

Besides working with each other, UUVs have used unmanned surface vessels (USVs) to send communications to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The UAVs, in turn, have relayed that information to commanders and operators ashore. UAVs also have transferred data to UUVs that rose close to the surface.

Participating vehicles include Hydroid Remus 100 UUVs, OceanServer IVER UUVs, a SeaRobotics USV-2600, an ASV C-Worker USV, a Blue Bear Blackstart UAV and a Pulse Aerospace Vapor 55 UAV.

Also during the exercise, underwater gliders have conducted ocean surveillance, UUVs have performed mine hunting, and underwater sensors have detected UUVs for potential port security applications. ONR is trying out its Waterside Rapid Deployment Security System, which uses a mix of sonar, radar and cameras to identify and track UUVs, swimmers and other potential surface and subsurface threats.

Dozens of unmanned vehicles, sensors and systems are taking part in Unmanned Warrior, which is sponsored by the U.K.’s Royal Navy. “This is a giant step toward defining the future of naval warfighting,” said Capt. Beth Creighton, the U.S. Navy lead for the exercise.

The State Department approved a possible $194 million Foreign Military Sales (FMS) request to Kuwait for new and upgraded radar field systems and related equipment, training, and support.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the potential sale on Oct. 13.

The sale would include six Short Range Radars, also called Gap Filler Radars, and one Long Range Radar with Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR) and Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) arrays.

The FMS also includes upgrades to existing AN/FPS 117 (V) 3 Long Range Radars, upgrades to airfield radome and communications systems, upgrades to secure Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems, site surveys, installation and checkout, site acceptance testing, interim contractor support, construction, contractor logistics support, spares, support equipment, and training.

Kuwait requested a limited competition among three U.S. vendors to produce a total of six Short Range, Gap Filler Radars (like the AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel F1, AN/TPS-77, or AN/TPS- 703) and one Long Range Radar (e.g., AN/TPS-77 or AN/TPS-78). Only the AN/MPQ-64 is considered as major defense equipment (MDE). The other radars identified by Kuwait for consideration are non-MDE.

The three U.S. vendors/primary contractors are Lockheed Martin [LMT], Northrop Grumman [NOC], and Raytheon [RTN].

Kuwait wants the radar field system to improve early warning, enhance internal and external security, and protect national sovereignty. The systems provide situational awareness for Kuwait security forces to detect and interdict fixed and rotary wing aircraft, DSCA said.

Implementation of the procurement would include a small number of U.S. contractor system and maintenance advisers under a long-term operations and maintenance support package. The specific number of personnel and performance period will be finalized at a later time.

TAURUS Systems GmbH delivered the first lot of TAURUS KEPD 350K stand-off missiles to the South Korean Air Force (RoKAF) in a ceremony Oct. 14.

TAURUS Systems GmbH is a joint venture of MBDA Deutschland GmbH (67 percent) and Saab AB (33 percent). The ceremony occurred at the joint venture’s headquarters in Schrobenhausen, Bavaria and included participation by representatives from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and the RoKAF.

The TAURUS KEPD 350K is an enhanced and upgraded version of the TAURUS KEPD 350 missile. The 350K is a modular stand-off missile system for precision strikes and is designed to fly through dense air defenses at a very low terrain-following level and for engagement of high-value targets, TAURUS Systems said.

“The missile contains a highly effective dual stage warhead system, which combines excellent penetration capabilities for hard and deeply buried targets with blast-and-fragmentation capabilities against point and area targets,” the joint venture said in a statement.

The precursor 350 missile system has been in service with the German Air Force since 2005 and Spanish Air Force since 2009.

TAURUS Systems said the KEPD 350K program is progressing according to the plan and the integration of the missile to the Korean Air Force F-15K fighter aircraft is in the final stage.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Roboteam, an American-Israeli firm that makes small unmanned ground vehicles for the U.S. Department of Defense and other customers, is developing several new products, including a UGV that can fly short distances to get around obstacles.

Like the male chicken it is named after, Rooster can become airborne briefly through a motion that is more like jumping than full-fledged flying, said Shahar Abuhazira, Roboteam’s U.S.-based chief executive officer. Rooster consists of a six-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle mounted atop Roboteam’s existing, throwable Individual Robotic Intelligence System (IRIS) UGV.

“The whole idea with Rooster was to solve maneuverability problems in urban and subterranean environments,” Abuhazira told reporters Oct. 19 at a Roboteam facility here. “We found the need just to jump over obstacles to save a lot of time.”

Roboteam hopes to have the Rooster ready for potential customers in nine to 12 months. “We are negotiating right now with several organizations in the U.S. DoD that want to take it in different directions,” Abuhazira added.

Other products in the pipeline include Rambot, an “attack” UGV that Abuhazira described as a “suicide IRIS,” and Tango, which the company is developing for the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center to allow UAVs and UGVs to work together.

Roboteam is also competing or planning to compete for several U.S. military acquisition programs. For the Army’s Common Robotic System–Individual (CRS-I), Roboteam intends to offer a system based on its man-carried Micro Tactical Ground Robot (MTGR). Roboteam, which is partnering with DRS Technologies for CRS-I, expects the Army to issue a request for proposals in January or February and buy almost 4,100 systems

Roboteam plans to offer a new, undisclosed system for the Army’s Man Transportable Robotic System (MTRS) Increment 2 program, which could release an RFP as early as the week of Oct. 17. The company also hopes to provide a chassis for the Navy’s Advanced Explosive Ordnance Disposal Robotic System (AEODRS) Increment 2 program, which issued an RFP about two weeks earlier. MTRS and AEODRS Increment 2 are slated to buy a total of more than 1,900 systems.

For the Army’s Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport (SEMT), Roboteam will offer a vehicle based on its Professional Robot (Probot) cargo carrier. An RFP is due out in fiscal year 2018.

The company is gearing up to open a new research and development center in 2017 to focus on rapidly developing products and upgrades for the U.S. military. Maryland is under strong consideration for the center, but the company is also looking outside the state.

“We are pushing systems to the field as soon as we can,” Abuhazira said. “We are not afraid of the feedback. We know sometimes it is not 100 percent ready, but when a soldier touches a system and gives you feedback, it can save you six months to a year of development and testing in the lab.”

On June 23, the United Kingdom sent shockwaves around the world when it opted to leave the European Union — a vote that led to the U.K. prime minister resigning in one of the most politically charged events in Europe in recent years. But, what does it mean for a vibrant U.K. space industry that has also become an integral part of Europe’s space DNA?

“Britain is still open for business” said Nicola Blackwood, the then chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee at a U.K. Parliamentary Space Reception just three days after the referendum result. It was a note of defiance as the U.K. space industry assessed where it goes next. Now, more than a month since the result, sister publication Via Satellite spoke to key players in the industry to see whether the thinking has changed since.

The U.K. space industry is a success story; currently worth around $15.64 billion (12 billion pounds) annually, it could reach $52.15 billion (40 billion pounds) annually by 2030 if the country achieves its an ambitious growth target. To do this, the U.K. will need to continue to attract the best talent. This is a major concern according to Patrick Wood, CEO of small satellite manufacturer Surrey Satellites Technology Limited (SSTL). He says that people are top of mind for him because SSTL has some very key staff members from all over the world.

“If I think about other space infrastructure companies in the United Kingdom, they similarly have a high percentage of staff that come from across Europe, and these days with the skills shortages we are seeing from a lack of U.K. applicants, it is a concern, yes,” he says. “At our end of the space market, we need people with a diverse capability of skills from the key assembly technicians all the way through the graduate engineers who are essential for space companies, as this is a high tech industry. In the future, do we have to push harder to find those skills in the U.K.? I would hope we would still have access to the resources that we currently have access too. So, that is an important point. From my point of view, there are still a lot of unknowns.”

Wood says SSTL is focusing on looking for business opportunities around the world and maximizing those opportunities. “Clearly, we work for the European Union. At the moment, we are continuing to get great support to continue to bid [from different organizations in Europe] for that work on Galileo and that is the positive and encouraging point so far,” he adds.

Steve Smart, Chairman of UKSpace and SVP of space defense and national security at CGI, a company that delivers mission critical space systems for space security and space applications, agrees with this sentiment, saying that, if you look CGI as an example, it has more than 500 employees working in the space marketplace. The company has a team working on Galileo where there are 27 nationalities represented.

It has teams working in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and in Italy formed by multicultural, multinational members. Smart says it has been a long standing characteristic of the space business since its inception in the mid 1970s, that it has bought together specialists from Europe, and that they have had a high degree of mobility, being members of the European Union.

Stuart Martin, CEO of the Satellite Applications Catapult, an independent U.K. nonprofit created to foster growth across the economy through the exploitation of space, also highlighted this issue, saying there is large community of EU nationals working in the U.K. space industry who enjoy the environment and the culture. He believes it is important for the industry to hang on to such people. At Catapult, more than 20 percent of staff are from the EU. He says it is very easy for EU staff working here, as they can bring their spouses across and their children can go to schools.

“We hope all of those things will continue. It helps lower the barrier of entry and losing that would be potentially quite detrimental to the U.K. space sector workforce,” Martin said. “We want the people who are already here to stay. We have some really talented people here from both the United Kingdom and the EU.”

There is little doubt that a great uncertainty hangs over U.K. space businesses. Martin is optimistic that the impact may not be as profound as some people think. He highlights that the great thing about the European space community is that it is already very internationalized. Martin points to the fact that a number of big European primes like Thales and Airbus are located in multiple European locations and that companies are well used to working in international arrangements.

Smart, however, believes there are some legitimate concerns that the industry now faces. When talking about the 40-billion-pound target, Smart believes this is still realistic but, to achieve this, a number of different elements need to fall into place. He says reaching 40 billion pounds annually by 2030 will be predicated on the United Kingdom maintaining its leadership in a number of technology areas, particularly in terms of satellite manufacturing, security of space systems in response to the growing cyber threat, and in the delivery of services, such as navigation, for example.

“It is probably the applications and service area in particular where we have the greatest concerns when it comes to the projected growth,” Smart says. “Brexit represents a risk to the United Kingdom in sustaining its leadership position. For the United Kingdom to lead a marketplace, it needs to sustain its leadership role within ESA and those European-led projects.”

Martin believes having access to the single market will be key. But, he believes the plan for 40 billion pounds in growth had factored in exports outside of the EU.

“Currently the space sector has an annual contribution of 12 billion pounds a year and roughly 20 to 25 percent of that is exports. But, when we move to that 40-billion-pound target, that needs to move,” Martin said. “A bigger part of that has to come from exports, and a lot of that is [already] coming from outside of the EU. There was a need, even before the Brexit decision, to increase our efforts to export outside the EU. This vote emphasizes the need to explore those options.”

Ian Jones, CEO at Goonhilly Earth Station, a teleport in Cornwall in the southwest of England admits there is no doubt that Brexit will have an impact on the satellite and space industry, although he says it is impossible to predict ultimately whether that will be positive or negative overall.

“We do feel that there will be winners and losers — [and] not just in the U.K. Our relationship with ESA, of course, is not affected, but there are other elements of the European space program that are EU-based,” Jones said. “The biggest challenge U.K. industry faces currently is a degree of procrastination whilst there is uncertainty in our politics.”

Clearly, what hasn’t changed over the previous few weeks is the ability of U.K. space companies to compete in a global marketplace. A company like SSTL has been doing smalls satellites way before they became a hot topic in the satellite industry. Wood, when looking at the company’s business in Europe compared to the rest of the world, said satellite navigation comprises the bulk of its business.

“We built the first 22 payloads for Galileo navigation. That has been the emphasis of our European work,” Wood said. “North America has been an area we have been focusing on with our Surrey Satellites U.S. subsidiary in Denver. They are building their first small satellite at the moment; they are due to launch that in 2017. Surrey Satellites are looking at growth opportunities within the U.S. market. In terms of the split, I would say the bulk of our work in Earth Observation (EO) and telecoms is outside Europe. We really are a global player.”

Smart admits that one of the concerns CGI has is the uncertainty it brings when doing business with key partners.

“Brexit has been part of the backdrop of those negotiations. A number of space projects tend to be relatively long-term in nature,” Smart said “During the Brexit negotiations, we face a backdrop of uncertainty, and that, for a business-planning viewpoint, is unwelcome.”

Martin admits that the Brexit result did come as a “bit of a shock” to people, but now that the dust has settled a little, he is encouraged about what he is hearing in the marketplace and the overall reaction from European partners.

“It is not like Brexit was a secret, but I think most of us thought that the ‘remain’ vote would come through, so there was a period of shock,” Martin said. “I think we have been reassured a little bit by the resilience of the sector and some of the conversations we have had with European partners. I was at a conference in Toulouse, France, a week after the Brexit decision and there was a very pragmatic approach taken by people in terms of working together. I am certain we will find ways of dealing appropriately with the challenges ahead of us, and where there are advantages, we will take advantages of them.”

The United Kingdom won’t be leaving the European Space Agency (ESA), just the EU. The change may not be as dramatic as people think.

“We are much more used to standing on our two feet, managing threats than perhaps other space industries around the world,” Martin said. “The ESA Council of Ministers will get together later this year. It is a real opportunity, for the United Kingdom, to restate our ambitions for space, and to make a positive statement about cross-European collaboration. We are not leaving Europe, just the EU.”

Smart also strikes a defiant note saying that “all is not lost”. He says the U.K. government can choose to directly invest in programs via ESA and decide to enhance these investments to target critical programs.

“The U.K. can still play a full and active role in European and global collaborative programs,” Smart said. “This would show Europe and the rest of the world we could collaborate in high-technology ventures, and the U.K. government remains committed to that. This would be an early and excellent example of how it remains open to business and developing high technology in this area.”

Joanne Wheeler, Partner at Bird & Bird and a member of the Via Satellite Advisory Board, recently published a short report looking at the impact of the United Kingdom exiting the European Union. She highlights, for example, that the United Kingdom may no longer be subject to European Commission decisions and initiatives on the harmonization of spectrum allocations across the EU. However, she points out that the U.K. will still co-operate with other member states on some of these issues through its membership of other organizations such as European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT), which is not an EU body. Interestingly, Wheeler says the United Kingdom many not now be included in the EU process related to WRC-19, but will be involved in other levels including CEPT.

The exit from the EU could lead to some other interesting regulatory developments. For example, Wheeler highlighted the fact that the European Commission had established a range of policy targets for the EU telecoms market including ambitious broadband access targets, which meant everybody in Europe would have access to 30 Mbps broadband by 2020. The United Kingdom will no longer be constrained by such targets.

This story was originally published on Via Satellite, a Defense Daily sister publication covering the global satellite communications industry.