Britain is all set to start work on its own satellite navigation system to rival the European Union's Galileo project because the UK's access to sensitive security information could be restricted after Brexit. An 8.97 billion pound satellite programme, Galileo, is being developed by the EU as a rival to the US Global Positioning System, has emerged as a flashpoint between Britain and the EU.
Chancellor Philip Hammond has approved 100 million pounds to explore a post-Brexit satellite system and an official announcement is to be expected this week, a report said. The European Commission had started to exclude Britain and its companies from sensitive future work on Galileo ahead of the country's exit from the EU in seven months time. Galileo was commissioned in 2003 and is due for completion by 2020. The EU has said Britain will be able to continue to use Galileo’s open signal, but that Britain’s military could be denied access to the encrypted version when the satellite becomes operational. Britain has said it plans to press ahead with the development of its own satellite navigation system if the EU continues to insist that it will be barred from the secure elements of the project and will demand a repayment of up to 1 billion pounds for the work it has carried out on the project.
