UK Defense Ministry Starts Development of National Navigation System - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The UK Ministry of Defense has started development of its own satellite navigation system because in future London could lose access to the European Galileo system after Brexit, local media reported.

In April, UK media reported that London was considering the possibility of development of the navigation system amid the EU decision to push the United Kingdom out of security-sensitive parts of the Galileo project after Brexit.

The Telegraph reported citing UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson that UK authorities had started preliminary work on the project worth about 3 billion pounds (over $4 billion).

The media outlet added that London would cooperate with a number of partners, such as Canberra, Tokyo and Seoul in the development of the system.

On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. However, the majority of the voters in Northern Ireland and Scotland opposed Brexit in the plebiscite. The negotiations between the United Kingdom and Brussels are due to be completed by the end of March 2019.

Galileo is aimed at creating an EU positioning system independent from the United States, Russia or China. It was launched in December 2016 after 15 years of development.