Advanced EHF Woes Prompt Changes to Air Force, NSA Practices

摘要

The U.S. Air Force and National Secu-rity Agency (NSA) are revising their space acquisition approaches to avoid a repeat of the encryption-equipment problems that have driven up the cost of a new generation of highly secure communications satellites, the service said. The revised strategy entails placing more emphasis on encryption-related issues in satellite procurements, and establishing a research and development program in satellite encryption technology, the Air Force said in a statement released to the media Dec. 21. Problems with NSA-supplied encryption equipment are the main culprits in the cost-growth spurt on the Air Force's Advanced Extremely High Frequency (EHF) satellite program. In its statement, the service said it notified Congress Dec. 3 that the program's cost was expected to rise by 20 percent.