Plans for a 20-meter-high space radar station in Pembrokeshire will be decided by Welsh government ministers, a process known as a 'call-in' that signifies issues of national importance.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) proposes to install 27 radar dishes at Cawdor Barracks in Brawdy. These dishes, each standing 20 meters tall and 15 meters wide, are intended to be part of the trilateral AUKUS security partnership between the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia.
Campaign group People Against Radar Campaign (PARC) has opposed the development, suggesting it could enable former U.S. President Donald Trump to exert dominance over space from Wales. PARC stated that the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) system is being developed for the U.S. Space Force, which was established during Trump's presidency, and has described the project as a significant escalation in the militarization of space.
The UK government has previously asserted that the DARC system is essential for tracking objects in deep space and for safeguarding satellite, communication, and navigation networks.
Planning applications are typically decided by local councils. However, fewer than a dozen of the approximately 25,000 planning applications submitted annually in Wales are 'called in' for ministerial review. The Welsh government, led by Plaid Cymru, has declined to comment on the decision to call in this application, noting that while any individual can request a call-in, it does not guarantee refusal. The government's website states that the power to call in an application is used infrequently and only when a proposal raises issues beyond local significance.