The British Defence Ministry is looking at fielding its own satellite reconnaissance assets.

Up to now, it has been using either US military assets or civilian assets for its space imaging needs. It looks like Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (currently in the process of being taken over by EADS Astrium) is the most likely candidate for the program with its SSTL-200 (pictured), which currently has a 2.5m resolution, though improvements to sub-meter resolution are thought to be possible.

As always, the problem is funding, with a price tag starting at £100M, which would have to come from elsewhere in the defense (defence) budget, particularly given the budgetary needs caused by the financial meltdown.