USAF Plans to Put Sensors on Allies' Satellites
The move is intended to deter Russia or China from shooting down spacecraft and provide backups if they do, according to Defense One
Dan Arkin
| 25/04/2018
Archive photo: AP
The US Air Force is planning to put sensors on allies' satellites to boost deterrence, increase resiliency, and get them to orbit sooner.
USAF officials told Defense One that the move is intended to diversify the makeup of military spacecraft that circle the Earth, better protecting them from an enemy attack and persuading Russia and China to think twice before launching a war in space.
"When you can complicate the decision-making of an adversary, particularly in crisis, you have a greater deterrent effect because they have to think about consequences in different ways," Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said last week at the National Space Symposium.
Military officials fear that America’s large, expensive military spacecraft – that provide, for example, global positioning coordinates, communications, and intelligence – could fall victim to existing and future Chinese or Russian anti-satellite weapons. As a countermeasure, USAF leaders have already called upon defense firms to build satellites that are more maneuverable and resistant to hacking and jamming.
Additionally, service leaders discussed new agreements with allies for orbital partnerships. Defense One reports that the US Strategic Command added Denmark to the 13 nations, two intergovernmental organizations, and 65 commercial satellite owners, operators and, launchers with which it shares space situational awareness data.
Air Force Secretary Wilson and Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force Chief of Staff, met with a Japanese delegation and agreed to include the Pacific nation in an annual space wargame in which France and Germany also participate.
The proposal to put American sensors on foreign satellites, a concept called a hosted payload, will also give the Air Force a way to jump a crowded queue of scheduled launches and put the sensors into orbit earlier than planned. For example, an arrangement with Norway will allow the military launch payloads as many as three years earlier than planned.
The move is intended to deter Russia or China from shooting down spacecraft and provide backups if they do, according to Defense One
Archive photo: AP
The US Air Force is planning to put sensors on allies' satellites to boost deterrence, increase resiliency, and get them to orbit sooner.
USAF officials told Defense One that the move is intended to diversify the makeup of military spacecraft that circle the Earth, better protecting them from an enemy attack and persuading Russia and China to think twice before launching a war in space.
"When you can complicate the decision-making of an adversary, particularly in crisis, you have a greater deterrent effect because they have to think about consequences in different ways," Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said last week at the National Space Symposium.
Military officials fear that America’s large, expensive military spacecraft – that provide, for example, global positioning coordinates, communications, and intelligence – could fall victim to existing and future Chinese or Russian anti-satellite weapons. As a countermeasure, USAF leaders have already called upon defense firms to build satellites that are more maneuverable and resistant to hacking and jamming.
Additionally, service leaders discussed new agreements with allies for orbital partnerships. Defense One reports that the US Strategic Command added Denmark to the 13 nations, two intergovernmental organizations, and 65 commercial satellite owners, operators and, launchers with which it shares space situational awareness data.
Air Force Secretary Wilson and Gen. David Goldfein, the Air Force Chief of Staff, met with a Japanese delegation and agreed to include the Pacific nation in an annual space wargame in which France and Germany also participate.
The proposal to put American sensors on foreign satellites, a concept called a hosted payload, will also give the Air Force a way to jump a crowded queue of scheduled launches and put the sensors into orbit earlier than planned. For example, an arrangement with Norway will allow the military launch payloads as many as three years earlier than planned.
