Tech firm signs biggest contract with SpaceX

Filtronic signed a deal with Elon Musk's SpaceX (pictured in 2014)

A British technology firm has secured its biggest ever contract, worth £47.3m, with Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Filtronic, based in Sedgefield in County Durham, signed a deal to supply gallium nitride E-band technology for use in satellite communications.

The company, which has manufacturing sites in County Durham and the US, along with three engineering centres in the UK, said its technology would play a "vital role" in supporting the Starlink constellation.

Chief executive Nat Edington said the "landmark contract" had set a new commercial record for the company.

Filtronic said the order would boost its revenue in 2026-27, when it will begin shipping product units, as well as through the following financial year.

It first struck up a strategic partnership and commercial agreement with SpaceX in April 2024 and announced a further £16.8m contract in February.

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."