The company buying sovereign encryption hardware for the UK’s military satellite network had a subsidiary convicted of fabricating evidence on MOD contracts four years ago.
Airbus announced on March 23, 2026, the acquisition of Ultra Cyber Ltd from Advent International.1 Ultra Cyber employs approximately 200 people in Maidenhead. It makes NCSC-approved C3 encryption, Multi Link Encryptors for NATO tactical data links, and TEMPEST products for electromagnetic emissions security.1 The price was not disclosed. Advent acquired Ultra Electronics for £2.6 billion in 2021 as part of its Cobham portfolio and has since divested more than $7 billion in assets.2 Based on comparable transactions, the price is likely in the range of €200–400 million.3
Ultra Cyber makes the encryption hardware for the communications that SKYNET carries.
I. SKYNET
SKYNET is the UK’s military satellite communications network: the system through which the Ministry of Defence transmits classified operational data to deployed forces worldwide. Airbus Defence and Space already holds the SKYNET 6A contract, worth £630 million.4 The wider SKYNET 6 programme is worth up to £6 billion in its core configuration, with some estimates running to £10 billion over the full lifecycle.4 The Whole System Service component, estimated at £1.5–2 billion, is expected to select a preferred bidder in 2026.4
The acquisition deepens the incumbent advantage. The company that operates the satellite network now also manufactures the sovereign encryption layer that protects it. Two MOD contracts awarded to Ultra Cyber, one worth at least £65 million, another at least £76 million, transfer to Airbus.1 A previous acquisition, Infodas, a 250-person German cross-domain solutions firm bought in 2024, established the pattern.3 Airbus has stated its ambition to become “the European cyber champion."5
The vertical integration is straightforward: sovereign capabilities, consolidated around a multi-billion-pound anchor contract. The question is what “sovereign partner” means when applied to Airbus’s UK defence business.
II. GPT
GPT Special Project Management Ltd was an Airbus subsidiary that provided communications equipment and support services to the Saudi Arabian National Guard under MOD-intermediated contracts.6 Between 2007 and 2012, it paid approximately £14.9 million in bribes to SANG officials.6
The corruption was first reported in 2010, but the guilty plea came eleven years later, in April 2021. Justice Bryan found that GPT had “destroyed evidence and attempted to manufacture false evidence.” Confiscation and fines totalled £28.1 million.6
Airbus’s longstanding position was that the corrupt conduct predated its involvement. Documents surfaced in the 2024 Cook/Mason trial contradicted this: they revealed that Airbus was aware of the corrupt payments from the point of acquisition.7
The subsidiary that destroyed evidence and fabricated replacements operated within the same Airbus defence division that now bids for SKYNET 6 and has just acquired the encryption hardware that protects it.
III. The Whistleblower
Lt Col Ian Foxley discovered the GPT corruption in 2010 while serving as an MOD-contracted monitor on the Saudi programme.7 When he reported it through official channels, he was threatened with imprisonment in Riyadh. He fled the country. His employment was terminated.7
Fifteen years later, from March 17 to 19, four days before the Ultra Cyber announcement, the UK High Court heard Foxley’s whistleblower case against Airbus and the Ministry of Defence.7 Foxley, represented by Leigh Day, argues that key facts about the corruption were deliberately concealed by both Airbus and the MOD. Airbus and the MOD seek to dismiss the claim as time-barred.7
No ruling has been issued.
The case directly concerns Airbus’s fitness to hold SKYNET contracts, the same contracts that Ultra Cyber’s encryption products support.7
IV.
The acquisition was in negotiation long before the hearing was scheduled. The timing is coincidental. The programme they concern is not.
Airbus is now the company that makes the UK MOD’s sovereign encryption hardware for SKYNET. It is also the company whose subsidiary pleaded guilty to bribery on MOD contracts, destroyed evidence and manufactured false evidence, and whose knowledge of the underlying corruption is the subject of an unresolved High Court proceeding that concluded four days ago.
The Ultra Cyber acquisition is Airbus’s answer to the question of whether it should be the UK’s sovereign defence partner. The Foxley case asks the same question from the opposite direction: whether Airbus earned the role, rather than merely acquired it.
Footnotes
1 Airbus SE, “Airbus to acquire Ultra Cyber from Advent International,” press release, March 23, 2026. Ultra Cyber Ltd: ~200 employees, Maidenhead, UK. Products: NCSC-approved C3 cryptographic solutions, Multi Link Encryptors (NATO tactical data links), TEMPEST products. MOD contracts: £65M+ and £76M+ transferred with acquisition.
2 Advent International / Cobham Ultra. Ultra Electronics acquired for £2.6B as part of Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions portfolio, 2021. Advent has divested $7B+ from the combined portfolio. Sources: Financial Times, Janes.
3 Airbus SE, Infodas acquisition, 2024. ~250 employees, ~€54M revenue, Bonn. Cross-domain solutions, NATO-approved. Author’s valuation range for Ultra Cyber (€200–400M) based on Infodas comparable and typical defence cyber multiples (3–6x revenue).
4 UK Ministry of Defence, SKYNET 6 programme. SKYNET 6A: £630M contract awarded to Airbus Defence and Space. Total programme value: up to £6B (Janes, UK Defence Journal); some sources cite up to £10B over the full lifecycle (Leigh Day, March 2026). Whole System Service (WSS) component: estimated £1.5–2B, preferred bidder selection expected 2026.
5 Airbus SE corporate communications. “European cyber champion” positioning referenced in Infodas acquisition announcement (2024) and Ultra Cyber press release (2026).
6 GPT Special Project Management Ltd pleaded guilty April 2021 to bribery in Saudi Arabia. £14.9M in bribes to SANG officials (2007–2012). Confiscation £20.6M + fine £7.5M = £28.1M. Justice Bryan: GPT “destroyed evidence and attempted to manufacture false evidence.” Sources: GOV.UK; OCCRP.
7 Leigh Day, “Airbus and MOD accused of concealing role in Saudi bribery scheme,” March 2026. Foxley: discovered GPT corruption 2010; threatened with imprisonment in Riyadh; fled; employment terminated. High Court hearing March 17–19, 2026. No ruling issued as of March 23. Cook/Mason trial documents (2024): Airbus aware of corrupt payments from point of acquisition. SKYNET fitness implications. See What the CEO of Airbus Signed.