Army not being shy about its need for satellites

摘要

A turf battle is brewing in the Pentagon over the possibility that the Army may want to buy its own satellites. Branches of the military historically have competed for control of assets such as tactical aircraft, ships and surveillance drones. The Army is now stepping into Space Force territory with a new effort to invest in what it calls a "tactical space layer." Generals like to remind audiences that the Army is the military's biggest consumer of services from space. A typical brigade is equipped with over 2,500 GPS-enabled devices and more than 250 satellite communications terminals. As space technology advances, the Army is eyeing greater use of satellites to capture timely intelligence, to provide low-latency communications and navigation that is not dependent on GPS. That message was delivered loud and clear last month when the Army announced the Pentagon approved a so-called "capabilities development document" for the service to pursue a tactical space layer. This doesn't mean the Army is ready to go buy a constellation but the document gives the service the green light to conduct experiments and develop sensor prototypes.