15 Countries with the Highest Number of Military Satellites in Orbit

Published on November 1, 2023 at 4:36 pm by Ashar Jawad in Lists, News

In this article, we look at the 15 countries with the highest number of military satellites in orbit. You can skip our detailed analysis on space technology and American dominance in this field by heading over directly to the 5 Countries with the Highest Number of Military Satellites in Orbit.

Space exploration has been a key area of interest for scientific research. However, in recent decades, it has become a hot topic for defense experts around the world. Satellites have increasingly begun being used for peaceful military purposes, such as navigation, intelligence gathering, and military communications.

During the peak of the Cold War, both the U.S. and Soviet Union had come close to developing satellites that were equipped with weapons capable of striking targets on the surface of the Earth. However, all efforts were put to a halt after the adoption of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty under the auspices of the United Nations that bans countries from non-peaceful activities in space, including stationing weapons of mass destruction.

American Space Dominance

The United States is the most advanced country in space technology and is the pioneer in the field of military satellites as well, having first initiated a satellite program called Weapon System 117L for photographic reconnaissance way back in the 1950s. It had multiple sub-programs, including Corona, whose missions were known as Discoverer.

The satellite program launched into orbit would capture high resolution pictures of specific areas, of both land and sea, and then enter the atmosphere of the Earth and release a payload containing all the photographs that the mission captured. There were at least 38 public launches of Discoverer, which enabled the U.S. to make several technological breakthroughs in space. It was the world’s first polar orbiting satellite, and also the first to be maneuvered from Earth. SAMOS was another prominent space program that evolved from WS 117L and served to collect photographic and electromagnetic reconnaissance data.

The U.S. today dominates the space. Home-based aerospace and armament manufacturing companies in the defense industry have played a vital role in ensuring this.

SBIRS, short for Space Based-Infrared System, has provided the United States capabilities even in missile defense and missile warnings. It is one of the nation’s top priority space programs. Last year in August, Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) launched its sixth and final missile warning satellite as part of the SBIRS program. Its newest systems, the GEO-5 and GEO-6, are capable of providing missile warning and surveillance. These are built on Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT)’s modernized LM 2100 Combat Bus.

In October 2023, the Space Development Agency (SDA) awarded a $732 million contract for 38 communication satellites and related support services to Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) that will be a part of the American military’s orbit architecture, Transport Layer Tranche 2 Alpha.

The agreement with Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) includes ground systems as well as the contractor operating and sustaining the satellites for a period of five years. To date, Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has won orders from the SDA for 132 satellites for the Transport and the Tracking Layer.

Another significant component of the American defense infrastructure is the military’s GPS satellite system, which provides the armed forces with accurate navigation and positioning, which is crucial to achieve military targets. RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX)’s subsidiary Collins Aerospace received a $583 million contract last year for navigation of American troops, which would help provide them their location even where GPS signals are banned. In 2021, RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX) also won a $228 million deal to develop the ground system for the OCX GPS constellation.

Like RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX), Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) has also been developing GPS satellites for the United States Space Force, including the much-famed GPS III satellites which help keep the Navstar GPS operational. The company is seeing high growth in sale of its space related offerings, as noted by Jay Malave, the CFO of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) in the company’s Q3 2023 Earnings Call:

“We continue to see strong growth across our space portfolio with sales increasing 8% year-over-year driven by higher volume on NGI, fleet ballistic missile, GPS and Orion programs.”

Methodology

We have ranked countries with the highest number of military satellites in orbit using figures and analysis released by the European Council on Foreign Relations in its December 2021 publication, Power Atlas, on military satellites and space capabilities. Countries in this article are listed in ascending order of the number of military satellites they possess. In case where the number of military satellites were the same for two or more countries, we outranked one over the other based on the importance of those satellites for these countries.

You can also check out 25 Most Powerful Militaries in the World.

Let’s now head over to the list of the countries with the highest number of military satellites in orbit.

Top 15 Countries with the Highest Number of Military Satellites in Orbit:

15. Turkey

Military Satellites: 2

Turkey has intensified its efforts in space technology, and has about six satellites in space, of which, two – Göktürk-1 and Göktürk-2 – are notably used for military purposes. Both built by the Turkish Ministry of National Defense and Turkish Aerospace Industries help provide satellite imagery that help address Turkish armed forces’ intelligence needs.

14. Mexico

Military Satellites: 2

More than 15 Mexican satellites have been launched in space over the last 40 years. These also provide military support to the armed forces. The Terminal Satellite is noted for providing support to deployment of the Emergency Military Unit in the country, which allows the troops to have internet and telephone services to keep contact with the national armed forces’ central command.

13. Japan

Military Satellites: 2

Japan operates several satellites in space that are used for both civilian and military purposes, including monitoring of military activities by China and North Korea. DSN-2 and X-band satellites are two that are primarily used for military communications by Japan. According to a report in June this year by Reuters, the Japanese military is also considering adopting Starlink satellite services.

12. United Arab Emirates

Military Satellites: 3

The United Arab Emirates is emerging as a rising power in the race to dominate space. Since the launch in 2000 of Thuraya-1, UAE’s first ever communication satellite, the country has sent multiple satellites into orbit, including three that are meant to be used for military purposes. The most recent military satellite was FalconEye, launched in 2020, to serve the military needs of the UAE Armed Forces.

11. Spain

Military Satellites: 4

Spain has four satellites that are used for military purposes. It is working at developing advanced thick-film circuits that will be placed into the antennas of its military communications satellite Spainsat NG, which will further bolster the capabilities of one of the most advanced military satellites in the world.

10. Australia

Military Satellites: 4

Australia is one of the countries that dominate space. Military satellites play a key role in providing the Australian Defense Forces (ADF) with long range communications. In April 2023, the Australian government announced Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) as the preferred bidder for its multi-billion-dollar military satcom project, JP9102.

9. United Kingdom

Military Satellites: 6

Military communications in the United Kingdom have become increasingly dependent on satellite technology and the government has spent heavily on the development of sophisticated and modern satellite communication networks, such as Skynet 5, which provides British troops with secure data, voice and video coverage where they are deployed. Skynet 5 is operated by the UK Ministry of Defense. Another key satellite program is the Strategic Communications Satellite System (SCSS) which ensures high-speed communication between the UK and its overseas military bases.

8. Germany

Military Satellites: 7

Germany has seven satellites in orbit that are used for military purposes such as communication and reconnaissance. These include SARah satellites built by Airbus, SAR-Lupe, Georg, CSO 3, COMSATBw, and Heinrich Hertz, among others.

7. Italy

Military Satellites: 8

Next on our list is Italy, which has the second highest number of military satellites in orbit among European nations. The country is further looking to solidify presence in space and has sought new GEO and LEO satellites to be used for military purposes in its latest defense budget. According to a report in Janes this month, the Italian government is set to spend over 900 million euros over the next five years on launching new military satellites.

6. Israel

Military Satellites: 8

Israel has about eight satellites in orbit that are used for military purposes, the most well-known of which is the Ofek series of satellites, first launched in 1988. Earlier this year in March, Tel Aviv launched Ofek 13 intel satellite with the aim of providing intelligence to a secretive military unit.

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