U.S. Forces Need Unified Satcom, not Status Quo

摘要

With mobile devices so ubiquitous these days - even taken for granted - it is difficult to envision going without one for talking, texting, paying bills, navigating, scheduling appointments and accessing the Internet. We live in the age of integrated innovation. By assessing a wide range of needs and matching them to developing technological capabilities in a holistic manner, we attain an optimal state of efficiency and functionality - while saving both time and money. I would advocate that we take a similar approach with satellite communications for the military community. Imagine the enhanced capability that would be provided for the full spectrum of government operations, from humanitarian relief to full-scale military operation, if the U.S. government developed and executed an integrated satcom architecture and reformed how it acquires satcom. For too many years, we have resigned ourselves to a model in which multiple U.S. Department of Defense branches are responsible for multiple parts of the package, turning to the commercial satellite industry on an ad hoc basis.