In a case where more may equal less, the Air Force is evaluating ways that increased integration of commercial technology with military satellite systems may help protect communications and reduce vulnerabilities for hacking or jamming.
“There is no one node that is invulnerable to attack,” Winston Beauchamp, Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for Space, told Defense Systems in an interview.
The concept is to increase the number of aircraft, drones, routers and fixed ground stations to achieve a greater measure of resiliency by using commercial technology and high-throughput satellites.
The service is conducting an “analysis of alternatives” aimed at exploring the range of technological options to prevent jamming, interference and other interruptions.