The U.S. Space Force (USSF) is moving aggressively to integrate commercial satellite communications technology and services into the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) architecture to strengthen the security of space and U.S. national security. During a recent webinar, Clare Hopper, Chief of the Commercial Satellite Communications Office (CSCO), assigned to the Space Force Space Systems Command, explained the importance of working with industry, as commercial partners provide much-needed innovation to drive efficient and effective military operations. Clare and Leslie Blaker-Glass, Vice President of Strategic and Business Development for the Hughes Defense and Government Systems Division, discussed specific CSCO efforts and how they are expanding the engagement between the government and industry. Based on the 2024 Space Command’s Commercial Integration Strategy, the DoD must pivot to a new model that relies on this critical relationship to maintain the strategic advantages needed to ensure U.S. military success and leadership.
CSCO’s Role in Driving Commercial Innovation Into the Hands of the Warfighter
Clare focused on several commercial technologies that her office is pursuing. This work follows the USSF’s Commercial Space Strategy, created to help accelerate building a more resilient, hybrid architecture. The CSCO office is investing in low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and satellite communications (SATCOM); small, low SWaP terminals; flexible communications architectures; as well as geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellites. According to former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, “The hybrid space architectures we field will integrate DoD, commercial, and allied space systems in a more diverse, resilient, redundant, and distributed space architecture, enhancing integrated deterrence through increased resilience…”
The CSCO’s aggressive move forward includes implementing the Proliferated LEO Satellite Services program, known as pLEO, which is supporting warfighters with satellite internet service. This program was launched in 2023 with a $900 million ceiling and by October 2024, this ceiling rose to $13 billion. Leslie explained the importance of pLEO to commercial SATCOM providers. “The main point that I took away from Clare Hopper’s mention of the DoD Commercial Strategy is the critical role that commercial satellites, and especially LEO satellites, have on the DoD’s enterprise.”
Maintaining This Critical Collaboration
The pLEO program’s growth shows how commercial industry and the CSCO can work closely together to enhance military operations. “Satellite is cool for the DoD users, and satellite innovation is a game changer, especially for the making military missions more efficient,” said Leslie. Adding resilient, multi-transport capabilities to SATCOM, especially secure 5G, and integrating them into the enterprise architecture gives commercial providers an important role within the future military space enterprise. Collaborating with the CSCO and USSF has become a must for DoD and impacts all users. Next generation commercial capabilities from software-defined engineering, advanced U.S.-made technology, AI, and everything in the network management architecture pulls this together and provides a baseline service that can be implemented today.
Resilient Military Communications Require Commercial Innovation Implemented at the Speed of Warfare
The Hughes Defense team appreciated having this webinar dialogue to better understand how much the CSCO team needs to deliver these innovations to the DoD as quickly as possible. Hughes is constantly adding advanced capabilities that meet requirements for customers like the USSF. Hughes engineers, integrates, and manages resilient networks with intelligence built in so networks are easier to operate, harder to take down, and provide future proof communications.
These automated, real-time network management solutions protect defense communications network infrastructure from disruptions and optimize services in every theater worldwide, 24x7, so military leaders can focus on the mission. This automated network management applies to the tactical edge as well as the core. The Smart Network Edge (SNE) software is a key enabler for orchestrating state-of-the-art resilient communications, utilizing multiple diverse transports including GEO, medium Earth orbit (MEO), LEO, and 5G systems. It supports continuous connectivity to meet mission requirements and, using a software-defined, smart-rules engine that uses AI and ML, this Smart Network Edge capability can automate the use of multiple modems, satellites, bands, services, and service providers at a terminal equipped with diverse resources. Contact Hughes to see a demonstration of our intelligent networking capabilities, like the ones we are implementing for the U.S. Navy and the Air Force Research Lab. The Hughes Defense teams looks forward to more discussions about future missions and how military users can leverage cutting-edge technology.