The UK Government is set to acquire a 20 percent stake in satellite operator OneWeb for USD 500 million, reports The Times.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Rushi Sunak are understood to have approved the purchase, with senior ministers briefed on the deal at a special Cobra meeting on the evening of 25 June. Sources indicate that the deal was at 'a very advanced stage'.
OneWeb, which filed for bankruptcy protection in March, has 74 LEO satellites in orbit, from a planned 650-strong fleet, which will be used for broadband and military/civilian GPS services. Access to OneWeb will enable the UK to set up its own post-Brexit satellite navigation system after losing access to the EU Galileo system. The UK had originally planned to develop its own home-grown rival to Galileo, but delays and rising costs have forced the government to rethink its strategy.
It is not clear if moving OneWeb's satellite manufacturing from the US to the UK is a condition of any deal with the UK Government. Industry sources said that Airbus was likely to emerge as a supplier of LEO satellites in the network. It is not clear when the deal will be completed, with Business Secretary Alok Sharma understood to be responsible for completing the deal.
