Now it’s Star Wars: Sir Richard Branson warns Britain must prepare for conflict in space and to ‘dominate’ the industry for the sake of national security

Britain must prepare for war in space and ‘dominate’ the industry in the name of national security, Sir Richard Branson has warned.

The 75-year-old British billionaire issued the dire warning to the crowd at the Space-Comm Expo Europe in London this week.

He told the space conference via video chat: ‘I’m afraid… when it comes to future wars we’re going to have to try to dominate it and hopefully work with the Americans, but let’s also be prepared to stand on our own two feet.’

Sir Richard said Britain had the ability to ‘match’ rivals China, Russia and the US for dominance in space, but added government support for space companies was ‘another matter’.

‘It would be wise for the government to invest in the right projects, especially in this age when wars are making a comeback,’ he said.

Major General Tedman called on Britain to be ‘more assertive’, adding: ‘We need to move much faster and leverage commercial industry to keep up with threats and technology. The direction is clear. Now is the time. ‘The cost of inaction is increasing.’

Many countries already use space as a battlefield with satellites to spy, encrypt communications, guide missiles, and ensure the smooth functioning of a developed economy.

Many countries, including the US, India, Russia, China and the UK, have Space Commands in their militaries; The latter is based at RAF High Wycombe.

For at least this decade, a war in space will be primarily related to a war on Earth.

Given that technologically advanced powers are now so reliant on space, this is at the heart of modern military thinking.

Without satellites, commanders don’t know where to position their aircraft carriers, long-range missiles and troops. They don’t know exactly where the enemy is either.

There is an existing Outer Space Treaty, but it is a treaty from the 1960s and has not been updated to reflect modern military technology or the emergence of private initiatives such as the US’s Space X and Blue Origin or China’s i-Space.

The treaty, for example, bans the deployment of nuclear weapons in space but makes no mention of conventional weapons.

Laser guns aren’t even mentioned, given that they haven’t been invented yet.

We also lack guidelines for how close one country’s satellite can come to another, given that some countries have parts of their nuclear early warning systems in satellites. This seems mandatory.

On Wednesday, Space Minister Baroness Lloyd of Effra announced a £500 million investment in Britain’s national space programme, bringing total government funding to £2.8 billion between now and 2030.

This falls far short of the €35bn (£30.4bn) investment Germany has planned for the next four years.

The United States now finds itself in a new space race with China; Both countries plan to land astronauts on the moon before 2030 and then establish bases on its surface.

Chinese satellites were seen engaging in ‘dogfights’ in space, attempting to move aggressively less than a mile apart; This shows that they are preparing for space combat.

Elsewhere, Russian intelligence satellites are orbiting European spacecraft, raising suspicions that Moscow is developing an anti-satellite weapon.