Early warning radar to be operated for UK Ministry of Defence by Serco
NewsSeptember 03, 2026
NORTH YORKSHIRE, England. Serco won a five-year contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to operate, maintain, and sustain the Solid State Phased Array Radar (SSPAR) at RAF Fylingdales, the company announced in a statement.
The radar is part of the UK and U.S. governments' Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR) and is built to detect and track missiles as part of the U.S. ground-based missile defense radar network, the statement reads. Serco provides support at the site around the clock and handles hardware and systems operation and maintenance, along with analysis and training work, the company says. The radar also tracks objects in low Earth orbit (LEO), and the SSPAR logged more than 5.9 million satellite tracks during 2025, with Serco supplying real-time analysis of breakups, re-entries, launches, and maneuvers, the statement adds.
The contract, awarded by the National Armaments Director Group, begins in April 2027 and carries an option for a two-year extension. Under the award, Serco will use the Enhanced Spacetrack Processor (ESP), a software tool it developed with the Royal Air Force and UK Space Command to determine the position, orbit, and size of objects in low Earth orbit, replacing a system in use for three decades, the company says.
