Will Brexit Exclude UK from the EU’s Galileo Program?
By Kendall Russell | March 30, 2018
Defense Secretary James N. Mattis meets with the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Defense Gavin Williamson at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., Feb. 1, 2018. Photo: U.S. Army Sgt. Amber I. Smith.
U.K. Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson said he is “deeply disappointed” by Europe’s plans to exclude U.K. businesses from bidding on the Galileo satellite program. The U.K. military would also be barred from using the GPS-like system. Despite the U.K.’s previous investment in Galileo, the European Union (EU) believes the system’s security would be compromised due to the U.K.’s political and economic exit from the coalition.