A UK satellite factory could be built by US defence giant Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) as it looks to win contracts with the government for its Skynet military communications programme.
Lockheed, which has been in the space industry for five decades, wants the Ministry of Defence to open up the next phase of the £6bn programme to competitive bidding, UK chief Paul Livingston told the Telegraph.
It comes on the back of a step-up in the development of the UK space sector, with a first spaceport licence issued in Cornwall last year and further spaceports eyeing launches in northern Scotland and on the Shetland islands.
Space is worth £16.5bn to the British economy, according to the UK Space Agency, with the industry employing 47,000 people directly and space activities supporting a total of 190,000 jobs across the supply chain.
Livingston said Lockheed's willingness to make an investment does not depend on winning a contract to build the next satellites for Skynet, which a currently made by France's Airbus.
Last week, FTSE 250-listed defence contractor Babcock won a six-year deal to operate Skynet.