Ball Aerospace has manufactured spacecraft including contracts with Nasa, while also producing components and instruments for national defence projects. It previously worked on optics and mirror systems for Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope, which entered service last year.

BAE, which is one of the UK’s largest arms producers, said the purchase was “aligned with the US Intelligence Community and Department of Defense’s highest priorities”. It has enjoyed bumper profits in recent months due to a raft of new orders in the wake of the Ukraine war.

Ball Aerospace is headquartered in Colorado, with more than 5,200 employees, of whom over 60 per cent hold US security clearances. It has built defence technologies including laser communication systems to link infantry and drones via satellite, and satellite tracking systems that allow spacecraft to monitor potential threats from other vehicles in space.

According to BAE, the purchase should help it to add more...