Serco, the international provider of critical government services, has won a five-year contract from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), awarded by the National Armaments Director Group, to continue to operate, maintain and sustain the Solid State Phased Array Radar (SSPAR), part of the UK and US government’s Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR), at Royal Air Force Fylingdales (RAF Fylingdales) in North Yorkshire. Designed to detect and track missiles, the radar acts as a major deterrent as part of the US Missile Defence ground-based radar network. Serco provides uninterrupted support 24/7, 365 days a year at RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire, to deliver optimal radar performance. Serco is also responsible for the radar’s hardware and systems operation and maintenance, as well as providing analytical and training activities. The Serco team is integral to tracking objects in Low Earth Orbit every day. During 2025 the SSPAR completed over 5.9 million tracks of satellites in Low Earth Orbit, with real-time analysis provided by Serco of satellite breakups, re-entries, new launches, manoeuvres and more. The contract, which begins in April 2027, has the option of an additional two-year extension period.
Anthony Kirby, Serco Group Chief Executive, said:“We are immensely proud of our dedicated team at RAF Fylingdales who are entrusted to seamlessly deliver this continuous service, helping to defend the nation and protect our skies. We have a long history over sixty years supporting the UK Space Command, US Space Force and the Royal Air Force at RAF Fylingdales, with our people at the heart of this critical infrastructure asset. Our success in securing this contract reflects the strength of our expertise and growing capabilities in defence and builds on our recent strong momentum.”
As part of the contract, a new software analytical tool, developed by Serco – the Enhanced Spacetrack Processor (ESP) – will be used to analyse large amounts of track data to determine the position, orbit and size of objects in Low Earth Orbit. The ESP has been developed with the RAF and UK Space Command. It replaces the United Kingdom Spacetrack Processor (UKSP), a longstanding Serco-developed system, which was used over three decades. During the contract, multiple Level 3 apprenticeships will be available for school or college leavers, as well as Level 5 and 6 apprenticeships for existing employees. Serco has partnered with Teesside University and Redcar & Cleveland College, to create an RAF Fylingdales-specific apprenticeship, allowing individuals to gain critical skills, achieve qualifications, and build sustainable careers in the defence industry.
This contract follows other recent successes in defence:
A contract to provide in-service support for the British Army’s fleet of 512 marine vessels.
An £80m contract for the Royal Australian Navy to provide HMAS Watson Navy Synthetic Warfare Training.
Three contracts with a combined value of over £1bn to provide Maritime Services to the Royal Navy.
A ten-year contract worth up to £1.5bn if all options are exercised, to run the Armed Forces Recruitment Service for all UK military personnel.
A 25-year, CAN$490m (GBP £266m) contract to support the Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) program for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
A new indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract to continue supporting the US Navy’s Submarine High Data Rate (SubHDR) antenna systems. The single-award contract vehicle has a ceiling value of US$97m (£72m).
