Apples-to-Satellites: What Are We Comparing?

The Senate Armed Services Committee recently requested five-, 10-, and 25-year strategic plans from DoD for the appropriate blend of military and commercial satellite bandwidth. Presumably, the committee is seeking cost-avoidance in the present and cost-savings in the long run. I have not actually seen any attempt at this type of comparison for several years. Industry…

Read More

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…

Read More