The new Royal Air Force (RAF) squadron will protect critical satellites used in communications and to warn of incoming missile attacks, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

It described the unit — to be known as No III Space Effects Squadron — as the country’s first dedicated to “disrupting, degrading, and denying enemy activity targeting British interests in space”.

The MoD noted the UK launched two squadrons in 2023 that “watch and warn” of space threats while the new unit will “act against those threats, using advanced technology, including electronic warfare”.

Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth will formally unveil the squadron on Wednesday at a two-day UK Space Power Conference starting in London, where Defence Secretary Wes Streeting will also warn Britain must “keep pace in the new space race”.

The announcement comes just over a week after the United States confirmed for the first time that it has arms deployed in orbit above the Earth.

That prompted China to warn against turning outer space into a “battlefield” and Russia to caution it must be “free from any weapon”, amid fears of an arms race in space.

The developments are being driven by rapid technological advancements but lack a comprehensive legal framework.

Last year, the head of UK Space Command Major General Paul Tedman warned he was “really worried” by Russia attempting to jam British military satellites on a regular basis.

He noted at the time that the UK was operating six dedicated military satellites for communications and surveillance, which were equipped with counter-jamming technology.

The chief justice was hearing a petition filed by citizen Mian Muhammad Jamil, with Superintendent of Police (SP) Abdullah appearing before the court on behalf of the Chung police.

The petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Shahbaz Bhatti, informed the judge that an LHC single bench had suspended a 2021 order by a sessions court of registering a first information report (FIR) against his client.

Despite the single bench ruling, the counsel alleged, the police registered a case against the petitioner unlawfully.

When Justice Neelum asked SP Abdullah to read the FIR aloud, he was unable to properly read or narrate its contents.

“Why is the FIR not readable? I cannot understand what has been written in it,” the chief justice remarked.

Expressing her displeasure over the manner in which the complaint had been written, Justice Neelum observed that such FIRs were not even readable.

“The entire Punjab is suffering; this is the situation everywhere,” she remarked.

The chief justice also sarcastically observed that the writing in the FIR looked like “flies”. “Even the size of the flies is bigger [than this],” she quipped.

Justice Neelum then summoned IG Kareem in person along with the relevant record for Thursday.

The IG was also summoned for Thursday in a separate case, where the chief justice rejected an inquiry report submitted in a contempt of court matter against the Lahore capital city police officer (CCPO).

Justice Neelum was hearing a petition filed by citizen Momin Khan, who alleged that police officials were harassing him despite court orders.

The petitioner’s counsel contended that an earlier petition against police harassment had been referred to the CCPO for redressal, but the police continued to subject him to harassment.

Asserting that the police failed to comply with the court’s directions, the counsel sought contempt proceedings against the CCPO.