XTAR Commentary: “Avoiding the China Comsat Trap”

The discussion in ANALYSIS: Avoiding the China Comsat Trap by Ben Iannotta in Deep Dive Intelligence, June 17, 2013, on the debate revolving around the DoD’s recent purchase of satellite capacity from a Chinese company, helps to focus on the key issue:  the U.S. military buys commercial satellite bandwidth with a process that inevitably increases costs and that supposes commercial providers will have a perennial supply of capacity for the military.

XTAR applauds efforts from OSD to engage trusted commercial satellite operators who have supported the military for years.  Through true collaboration – where both parties are in close dialogue during planning and execution – we can change acquisition policy into a sensible and sustainable long-term buying process. The DoD will finally enjoy well-planned, cost-effective and high utility commercial satellite resources.

Let’s make this a reality for our warfighters and our national security.