Employing Commercial Satellite Communications Wideband Investment Options for DOD

Department of Defense decisions on the amount of communications it will own or lease will in turn affect U.S. Air Force investments in new communications satellites. The study team evaluated the effectiveness of commercial wideband satellites across several characteristics defined by the United States Space Command. the cost of buying or leasing commercial systems is then compared with the cost of buying military systems with commercial characteristics. The team found that there is a large projected gap between the military demad for communications and the capability expected from present, planned, and programmed systems.