Related
Aaron Russell
3 minute read time.

The 2025 Defence in Space Conference (DiSC25), convened in London on October 28th and 29th, provided a powerful snapshot of a rapidly evolving domain where strategic priorities and technological innovation intersect.

Billed as a free and open event for the global space and defence communities, DiSC25 attracted over 1,500 participants, including senior representatives from government, industry, academia, and international institutions.​

Community and Collaboration: Foundations for Progress

DiSC25’s opening remarks set the tone:

In a time of global uncertainty and threat, the sense of community and determination among space professionals has never been stronger.

The event’s agenda reflected broad engagement, over 20 talks delved into topics such as Military Satellite Communications (MilSatcom), Space-Based ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance), Earth Observation, Space Security, and Cyber Defence, as well as doctrine and strategy for the multi-orbit operational future.​​

Panels were vibrant with discussion also around Building Trust in Multi-Orbit Architectures and the importance of Public-Private Partnerships in Space Security, highlighting the vital importance of collaboration between government entities, prime contractors, SME, and academic partners.

Industry and government leaders alike recognised that innovation cannot thrive in isolation; instead, sustained public-private cooperation forms the foundation for resilience and the rapid adoption of new technologies.​ As a reflection, this is a common theme and has been for some time – it is time for is as professionals to deliver on the discussions.

Operational Pace: Lessons from Today's Battlefields

DiSC25’s central narrative was heavily shaped, as you would expect, by the lessons emerging from Ukraine.

How modern warfare is transforming the speed, integration, and application of space-based capabilities. Speakers stressed that technologies such as near real-time geospatial intelligence, agile satellite networks, and robust, jam-resistant communications have leapt from proof of concept to mission-critical on today’s contested battlefields.

Discussions, once again a manifestation of what is discussed in the wider profession highlighted the need for achieving the “Speed of Relevance” and explored both the promise and the practicalities of deploying commercial and government satcom at scale, responding to adversarial action, and supporting decision superiority at every echelon of command.​

Breakout sessions around the stands considered the challenges of hybrid network environments, including the orchestration of LEO, MEO, GEO, and even HEO assets to ensure assured communications in denied or degraded conditions, underscoring the new technical and doctrinal frontiers for allied militaries and coalition partners.​

Space as a Warfighting & Security Domain

Space Domain Awareness (SDA) and Space Security address the operational reality that space itself is a contested, competitive, and congested domain.

Though known, it was sobering to hear assessments of the threats from cyber-attacks on ground stations to kinetic and non-kinetic targeting of satellites and examined new models for resilience.

Themes included Zero Trust Architecture for critical nodes, cross-domain integration (blending space, air, cyber, and terrestrial assets), and the cultivation of sovereign capability, both for the UK and its partners, with an apparent growing coalition of the European Nations.

Social Pulse and Thought Leadership

It is not just at the event where you can gather thoughts and assessments, a vibrant stream of posts under #DISC25 captured real-time impressions and reactions.

Companies such as Telespazio Germany and the British Interplanetary Society amplified discussions on skills development, innovation, and STEM pathways for the next generation.

Thought leaders shared practical takeaways: the growing relevance of open standards, the impact of international regulatory shifts, and the strategic value of regular, meaningful industry-government dialogue.​

Personal Reflection: Bridging Careers and Communities

Having first attended DiSC in 2024 as a fresh entrant to the private sector after nearly a quarter-century in the military, these events provoke both professional and personal reflection.

DiSC25 stood out for its balance of vision and candour: the real-world urgency of modernising ground and space architectures, the complexities of coalition operations, and the unvarnished recognition that capability gaps remain, and the challenge of government budgets to address these.

Yet, there was also optimism, an enduring sense that the space and defence sector’s best progress emerges from dialogue and collaboration.

The accessibility of DiSC, its capacity to convene such a wide cross-section of expertise, and its openness to both returning veterans and incoming graduates, make it uniquely valuable in shaping the future of national and allied space resilience.

Looking Ahead (and turning this blog into a discussion)

DiSC25 left attendees with both new questions and actionable ideas:

How can the momentum seen on the Ukrainian battlefield be translated to long-term procurement and training cycles?

What technical innovations will define a resilient, sovereign, and interoperable space sector for the 2030s?

And how can community be leveraged as a force-multiplier when threats are evolving faster than legacy structures can adapt?

The anticipation for DiSC26 is already building, testament to the crucial role these forums play for professionals across the space and defence ecosystem.

Parents

  • Regarding the discussion points:

     

    How can the momentum seen on the Ukrainian battlefield be translated to long-term procurement and training cycles?

     

    Long term procurement is stifled due to the constant change in requirements, coupled with those in positions within Defence only having incumbents for 2-3 years. Procurement as you know takes time to bring capability into the system (sometimes up to 10 years), which is being challenged through RAPSTONE as the Fd Army rapid T&E and procurement programme (focussed on delivering capability within 12 months). This however only focusses on certain elements that are considered within the “Top 10” issues and risks faced. Often anything within the communications field is an after thought and the organisation is left with employing capability that is out of date with current technology and delays in the future capabilities – many an example of a good idea way back when, but no longer a capability for now or the future, when we are discussing dispersed CP’s and high data rates.

     

    Training though is an entirely different proposition and lessons learned from UKR are being understood and translated into training pipelines across Fd Army – C-UAS as one example of where a previous “Air Sentry” would of potentially just observed, recorded and reported, now conducts survivability actions. Additionally, they seek to use the lessons to build TTPs (icw LWC) for a whole force approach to counter the threat at an individual level. Key is the use of emerging capability to detect, identify and deny hostile systems, combined with an uptick in training against the cyber threat and development of SP digital skills. The idea is that every soldier will be technically literate for the challenges faced in the future, meaning less specialist requirements at the lower level and greater use of technical capabilities in the future.

     

    What technical innovations will define a resilient, sovereign, and interoperable space sector for the 2030s?

     

    From an innovation perspective, Free Space Optics (FSO) is something that will be a battle winning idea (excuse the military ref). The use of FSO within the SatCom sphere will greatly enhance data throughput enabling information to arrive to the end user quicker but will allow decision makers to get ahead of the information curve and exploit the situation accordingly. This must be captured in consideration for the next generation of SatCom solutions, paired with traditional RF Tx/Rx, to enable resilience in capability. To be sovereign and interoperable is key. Sovereign to the point of we own but interoperable to the point of exchanging information as required. Collaboration between Private and Public sectors, could realise this through shared endeavours, but equally within the Private sectors where collaboration and open-source architecture is both an advantage and disadvantage. The use of FSO between LEO/MEO/GEO satellite constellations would also aid in the resilience of the SatCom network, especially if delivery of an optical solution to the ground is not feasible, and if a satellite has a Tx/Rx failure, could re-route through that open source architecture to another “locally” to Tx/Rx on its behalf.

     

    And, How can community be leveraged as a force-multiplier when threats are evolving faster than legacy structures can adapt?

     

    Already alluded to above, the Private/Public sector engagement, similar to DiSC, to entice discussion and provoke thought. Equally a common architecture could present opportunity costs, in so much as reduction in time taken to develop new concepts and integrate into the aging systems, to eventually replace. The end outcome being that with an open architecture, with everyone on the same page, enables force multiplication as there is no/minimal proprietary information – often the road block to integration/interoperability/collaboration.

Comment

  • Regarding the discussion points:

     

    How can the momentum seen on the Ukrainian battlefield be translated to long-term procurement and training cycles?

     

    Long term procurement is stifled due to the constant change in requirements, coupled with those in positions within Defence only having incumbents for 2-3 years. Procurement as you know takes time to bring capability into the system (sometimes up to 10 years), which is being challenged through RAPSTONE as the Fd Army rapid T&E and procurement programme (focussed on delivering capability within 12 months). This however only focusses on certain elements that are considered within the “Top 10” issues and risks faced. Often anything within the communications field is an after thought and the organisation is left with employing capability that is out of date with current technology and delays in the future capabilities – many an example of a good idea way back when, but no longer a capability for now or the future, when we are discussing dispersed CP’s and high data rates.

     

    Training though is an entirely different proposition and lessons learned from UKR are being understood and translated into training pipelines across Fd Army – C-UAS as one example of where a previous “Air Sentry” would of potentially just observed, recorded and reported, now conducts survivability actions. Additionally, they seek to use the lessons to build TTPs (icw LWC) for a whole force approach to counter the threat at an individual level. Key is the use of emerging capability to detect, identify and deny hostile systems, combined with an uptick in training against the cyber threat and development of SP digital skills. The idea is that every soldier will be technically literate for the challenges faced in the future, meaning less specialist requirements at the lower level and greater use of technical capabilities in the future.

     

    What technical innovations will define a resilient, sovereign, and interoperable space sector for the 2030s?

     

    From an innovation perspective, Free Space Optics (FSO) is something that will be a battle winning idea (excuse the military ref). The use of FSO within the SatCom sphere will greatly enhance data throughput enabling information to arrive to the end user quicker but will allow decision makers to get ahead of the information curve and exploit the situation accordingly. This must be captured in consideration for the next generation of SatCom solutions, paired with traditional RF Tx/Rx, to enable resilience in capability. To be sovereign and interoperable is key. Sovereign to the point of we own but interoperable to the point of exchanging information as required. Collaboration between Private and Public sectors, could realise this through shared endeavours, but equally within the Private sectors where collaboration and open-source architecture is both an advantage and disadvantage. The use of FSO between LEO/MEO/GEO satellite constellations would also aid in the resilience of the SatCom network, especially if delivery of an optical solution to the ground is not feasible, and if a satellite has a Tx/Rx failure, could re-route through that open source architecture to another “locally” to Tx/Rx on its behalf.

     

    And, How can community be leveraged as a force-multiplier when threats are evolving faster than legacy structures can adapt?

     

    Already alluded to above, the Private/Public sector engagement, similar to DiSC, to entice discussion and provoke thought. Equally a common architecture could present opportunity costs, in so much as reduction in time taken to develop new concepts and integrate into the aging systems, to eventually replace. The end outcome being that with an open architecture, with everyone on the same page, enables force multiplication as there is no/minimal proprietary information – often the road block to integration/interoperability/collaboration.

Children
No Data

Community Rules & Guidelines