Serco has been awarded a five-year agreement by the UK Ministry of Defence to continue the operation and maintenance of the long-range ballistic missile-warning radar located at RAF Fylingdales in North Yorkshire. The contract includes the installation of the Enhanced Spacetrack Processor, or ESP, on the Solid State Phased Array Radar. Developed alongside the Royal Air Force and UK Space Command, ESP is designed to analyze raw radar data and help specialists establish the location, orbit, and size of detected space objects. Its introduction will replace the United Kingdom Spacetrack Processor, which was developed by Serco and has supported the radar mission for more than 30 years. RAF Fylingdales’ SSPAR is part of the Upgraded Early Warning Radar network jointly operated by the British and US governments. The radar has the ability to detect objects approximately the size of a Coke can at ranges extending as far as 3,000 miles, or 4,828 kilometers, into space. Its workload includes extensive tracking activity in Low Earth Orbit. In 2025 alone, the system tracked more than 5.9 million objects, with Serco delivering real-time analysis of orbital events. The company’s responsibilities also include round-the-clock support at the facility, covering radar hardware and system maintenance, along with analysis and training functions. The latest contract is due to enter into force in April 2027 and provides an option that could extend the arrangement for another two years.
