Alex was pleased to announce that Defence company Babcock - which has bases in Gloucestershire - has been awarded the contract to manage and operate Skynet, the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) military satellite communications system.
Babcock which has a base in Cheltenham in Enterprise Way and at Gloucestershire Airport, employs around 450 people across the county.
The six-year contract, with an initial value of more than £400 million, forms part of the MOD’s £6 billion Skynet 6 programme, sustaining more than 400 jobs in the south-west of the UK.
Alex said:
"Space is increasingly important for maintaining battlefield advantage. The UK's next generation military satellite communications system will keep us at the forefront of this critical domain and the work under this contract will bolster our resilience for years to come."