98275. Estes Advocates Space Partnerships
By Douglas J. Gillert
American Forces Press Service
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- U.S. military space programs
must converge with civil, commercial and allied space
efforts, DoD's top space commander said here recently.
Air Force Gen. Howell M. Estes III, commander in chief
of U.S. Space Command, spoke at the National Space Symposium
to more than 1,000 representatives of governments,
organizations and companies that deal with space.
Partnerships with civil and commercial space agencies, he
said, will enable DoD to maintain its space programs more
efficiently and affordably.
Space is becoming increasingly vital to America's
economic and military strength, he said, and global
partnerships are at the core of his command's long-range
plan. Estes said the benefits of such partnerships include
sharing technology garnered from large military investments
in space research and development, merging military
investments in worldwide space infrastructures, and
understanding military space trends and future requirements.
"A significant inducement to partnering is the
financial incentive of the work itself," Estes said.
Partners, he said, gain access to far more resources than
they could afford individually. Sharing resources also will
help nations and military organizations adjust to the
Information Age. Transition to information-based weapon
systems, strategies and doctrines "is and will continue to
be a traumatic transition for a host of reasons, not the
least of which is cost," Estes said.
The success the military is having at developing new
weapon systems comes at the cost of a significantly reduced
force structure, the general said. Such cuts will be
justified, he said, if investments in space-based
information technology "provide such dramatic increases in
battle management; command, control, computers and
communications; and intelligence surveillance and
reconnaissance, so as to render the smaller force structure
far more effective than the larger force structure of the
past."
But even though DoD is cutting force structure, it
hasn't come up with the funds necessary to invest in new
technologies to offset the decreased force, Estes said.
"There is a large and growing possibility that these gains
will not be realized unless more funding is made available
to the military. Therefore, the importance of military space
partnerships becomes even greater.
"The smaller military force of the future will require
information systems -- many of them space-based -- which do
not yet exist and are not yet funded," Estes said. "One of
the few avenues the military has to meet these Information
Age requirements and make the most efficient use of every
single dollar spent is through partnerships. The military
and its partners can leverage each other's investments in
infrastructure, research and development."
A common conceptual foundation is required to make
these partnerships work, the general said. He outlined four
keys for successful partnering:
o Ensuring a single operational focal point, presenting
one voice to the world for U.S. military space;
o Distinguishing between core and noncore military
space activities;
o Developing an integrated systems approach to space
issues; and
o Shaping the space environment.
Estes said the first concept is key to ensuring a
streamlined decision-making process across institutional
boundaries. "A strong military focal point could help break
the deadlock on strategic issues," Estes said. The general
announced that he has, in fact, been assigned the bulk of
space-related responsibilities of regional commanders in
chief.
"CinCSpace has been designated as the single focal
point for military space," Estes said. "That's a huge change
in the way we've done business in the past."
Concerning core and noncore capabilities, Estes said
the former have to do with operating military space forces
during crises and war. They aren't likely candidates for
partnering, he said. On the other hand, many noncore
capabilities, such as satellite communications and launch
services, are good candidates for outsourcing and
privatization, the general said.
Space Command's principal objective in filling the lead
military space role and identifying partnering candidates is
to develop an integrated systems approach, he said. Such an
approach would result in huge savings, and his command can
help partners consolidate missions from an integrated
systems perspective, he said.
Systems integration is partially what's happening in
the future imagery architecture and military satellite
communications, Estes said. "U.S. Space Command is playing a
leading role in these efforts to ensure the needs of the war
fighters and our nation at large are being met."
To make all these plans work, Estes said, DoD and its
partners must shape the space environment. This requires
neutral defenses for all space-faring nations for their
mutual benefit, he said. "This mutual dependence should
deter aggression and foster [positive] relationships.
However, based on historical precedence, development of
enforcement policies and the means of ensuring enforcement
may become necessary."
Like air and sea power of the past, increasing
dependency on peaceful access to space may require military
policing, Estes said. "Regardless, the more nations
cooperate in peaceful sharing of space resources, the less
chance the world will ever need the means of enforcing the
use of space. [But] it is likely in the future that the U.S.
Space Command will need to have options to respond to anyone
attempting to deny us access to space."
Estes concluded his talk by comparing partnerships in
space to marriage. "A great partnership is only the
beginning," he said. "A relationship will take a lot of
work."
##END##
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
