UK tech firm Filtronic wins 'landmark' SpaceX contract worth £47.3m

British tech firm Filtronic has secured its biggest ever contract with Elon Musk’s SpaceX worth £47.3m.

The London-listed defence and telecoms equipment maker – which is based in Sedgefield, County Durham – saw its shares leap as much as 13% higher at one stage on Tuesday morning after announcing the “landmark” agreement.

The deal will see it supply its next-generation gallium nitride E-band technology, which is a type of radio frequency (RF) tech designed for high-performance wireless communication.

Filtronic said the order is set to boost its revenue in 2026-27, when it will begin shipping product units under the contract, as well as in 2027-28.

Nat Edington, chief executive of Filtronic, said: “We are extremely proud to announce this landmark contract, which not only sets a new commercial record for Filtronic, but also reflect the success of our partnership with world-leading satellite company SpaceX, supporting the Starlink constellation.”

It sees the firm further cement its role in SpaceX’s Starlink programme, with Filtronic having first struck up a strategic partnership and commercial agreement with SpaceX in April 2024.

In February, Filtronic announced a £16.8m contract with the US aerospace firm.

Starlink hailed Filtronic as a “valuable partner” to SpaceX.

Mike Nicholls, vice president of engineering at Starlink, said: “This next-generation technology will provide further benefits to our system and our customers’ experience, and we’re excited to enter this next phase with Filtronic.”

Filtronic, which was set up in 1977, specialises in the design and manufacture of what it calls “mission-critical” communication networks for the aerospace, defence, telecoms infrastructure and low earth orbit space markets.

It has two manufacturing sites in County Durham and the US, as well as three engineering centres in the UK.