Abstract
This chapter provides information concerning the use by governments of military and commercial satellites systems for strategic and defense purposes. It discusses dedicated communications satellite systems designed for particular uses and the so-called dual use of commercial systems to support military and strategic purposes. It explains various pathways that can be followed by governments to obtain communications satellite services to support military uses. These paths include: (1) dedicated satellites, (2) hybrid satellites (both military and commercial payloads on a single satellite), (3) shared satellite facilities via intergovernmental agreements, (4) guaranteed long-term leases, (5) ad hoc leases of capacity on demand, and (6) a long-term partnership between a government and a commercial partner as is the case with the Skynet 5 program in the United Kingdom.
In this chapter the authors will also examine how various countries obtain their national satcom, how and why commercial capacity has become, and will continue to be, a significant part of national satcom capabilities. It will examine the present and future contracting approaches and procedures used in various countries but primarily in the United States and other NATO countries.
Finally, there will be a discussion of the issues involved when nations decide between purchasing nationally owned satellites and leasing capacity commercially. In this regard, it is noteworthy that in many cases the major investments in new technology for satellite defense communications systems are now more often coming in the commercial communications world. Governments are more and more changing their procurement models to take advantage of commercial procurements or long-term leases. This allows military communications units to spend their financial resources more strategically on any small adjustments to make their satellite acquisitions more military specific. Technology is typically moving too fast for a “normal” 5-year military R&D program followed by procurement cycles to be at the cutting edge of the latest technologies in today’s world.
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Notes
- 1.
Defense systems article: commercial satellites plug bandwidth gap for military satcom, http://defensesystems.com/Articles/2011/02/28/Cover-Story-Commercial-Satellites-Evolve.aspx?Page=1
- 2.
US Navy homepage for UFO system, http://www.public.navy.mil/spawar/PEOSpaceSystems/ProductsServices/Pages/UHFGraphics.aspx
- 3.
Description of MUOS system, http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/muos.htm
- 4.
US Air Force fact sheet for DSCS system, http://www.losangeles.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet_print.asp?fsID=5322&page=1
- 5.
US Air Force fact sheet for WGS system, http://www.afspc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet_print.asp?fsID=5582&page=1
- 6.
LA AFB fact sheet for the GBS system, http://www.losangeles.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=7853
- 7.
Intelsat general UAV services, http://www.intelsatgeneral.com/services/applications/uav.aspx
- 8.
Satellite markets and research: government/military demand for commercial satcom remains steady, http://www.satellitemarkets.com/node/769
- 9.
U.S. Air Force fact sheet MILSTAR satellite communications system, http://www.af.mil/information/factsheets/factsheet_print.asp?fsID=118&page=1
- 10.
U.S. Air Force fact sheet advanced EHF system, http://www.afspc.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet_print.asp?fsID=7758&page=1
- 11.
Defense budget recommendation statement made by secretary of defense Robert M. Gates, 06 April 2009, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2009/04/dod-speech-090406.htm
- 12.
Alcatel press announcement on Syracuse 3B, http://www.home.alcatel.com/vpr/vpr.nsf/DateKey/16012004uk
- 13.
Description of Syracuse 3 system, http://www.deagel.com/C3ISTAR-Satellites/Syracuse-III_a000283001.aspx
- 14.
Satcom BW overview, http://www.astrium.eads.net/en/programme/satcombw-comsatbw2.html
- 15.
Sicral program overview, http://www.telespazio.it/pdf/Tes53_impg_3_4_09_ing_lowresolution.pdf
- 16.
- 17.
Overview of Russian space activities, www.russianspaceweb.com/spacecraft_military.htm
- 18.
Intelsat announcement of Intelsat 22 satellite procurement and procurement of UHF payload by Australian Defence Force, http://www.intelsat.com/press/news-releases/2009/20090427-2.asp
- 19.
Australian white paper on defence, http://www.defence.gov.au/whitepaper/
- 20.
Press announcement of Australian involvement in US WGS program, http://www.australiandefence.com.au/F4F2FBC0-F806-11DD-8DFE0050568C22C9
- 21.
Basic guidelines for space development and use of space, www.mod.go.jp
- 22.
Hispasat satellite fleet information, http://www.hispasat.com/Detail.aspx?SectionsId=67&lang=en
- 23.
XTAR EUR satellite information, http://www.xtarllc.com/xtar-eur.html
- 24.
XTAR LANT satellite information, http://www.xtarllc.com/xtar-lant.html
- 25.
Yahsat program information, http://www.yahsat.ae/yahsecure.htm
- 26.
DISA overview of NSP2K program, csse.usc.edu/gsaw/gsaw2005/s9f/stoops.pdf
- 27.
NATO overview of NSP2K program, http://www.nato.int/issues/satcom/index.html
- 28.
Space daily report on ADF entering the WGS program, http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Australia_To_Join_With_United_States_In_Defence_Global_Satellite_Communications_Capability_999.html
- 29.
Overview of Skynet 5 program, http://www.army-technology.com/projects/skynet/, http://www.astrium.eads.net/en/programme/skynet-5-.html
- 30.
Announcement of Paradigm’s fourth Skynet 5 satellite, http://www.astrium.eads.net/en/press_centre/paradigm-agrees-deal-with-uk-ministry-of-defence-mod-for-fourth-skynet-5.html
- 31.
Announcement of Anik G1 satellite by Telesat and Loral, http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=30941
- 32.
Announcement of Paradigm’s leasing of Anik G-1 X-band capacity, http://www.spacenews.com/satellite_telecom/101013-paradigm-xband-anik.html
- 33.
Announcement by Intelsat of its intent to launch Intelsat 27 with a UHF hosted payload, http://satellite.tmcnet.com/topics/satellite/articles/95425-intelsat-is-27-satellite-launch-2012.htm
- 34.
Iridium NEXT program will include opportunities for hosted payloads, http://www.iridium.com/about/IridiumNEXT/HostedPayloads.aspx
References
Annual report to congress: military and security developments involving the people’s Republic of China 2010, http://www.defense.gov/pubs/pdfs/2010_CMPR_Final.pdf
DISA conference proceedings 2009 for the commercial satcom session, http://www.disa.mil/conferences/2009/briefings/satcom/Commercial_SATCOM_DISA_Conference_2009.ppt (slide 33)
Long March launch of Chinese Military Satellite: November 2010, http://www.space.com/9606-chinese-military-communications-satellite-reaches-orbit.html
National communications system fiscal year 2007 report, http://www.ncs.gov/library/reports/ncs_fy2007.pdf, p. 26
Satellite 2001 daily news: military bandwidth migration path leads to Ka-, X-band satellite offerings, http://www.satellitetoday.com/eletters/satellite2011_daily/2011-03-11/36343.html
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Stanniland, A., Curtin, D. (2016). An Examination of the Governmental Use of Military and Commercial Satellite Communications. In: Pelton, J., Madry, S., Camacho-Lara, S. (eds) Handbook of Satellite Applications. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6423-5_8-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6423-5_8-3
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