The Department of War (DoW) is evolving its hybrid space architecture (HSA) to ensure warfighting readiness against advanced peer and near-peer threats. Defense satellite communications are entering a new phase, defined by the convergence of government ownership and commercial innovation.
This kind of proliferated and seamless network in space is central to the U.S. Space Force (USSF) mission. The resilience of such a space architecture is essential to maintaining national defense in an increasingly contested theater.
There are three key pillars to achieving this resilience.
An interoperable terminal strategy
Terminals for satellite communications (SATCOM) are often used for many years; new equipment is sourced as needed from a wide range of vendors. None of that should matter to the HSA model. The USSF should not be expected to buy new equipment to accommodate a SATCOM provider’s proprietary products or become vendor-locked to a particular service because of its terminals.
True resilience demands a terminal-agnostic strategy that ensures interoperability when roaming across multiple orbits and spectrum bands. Next-generation low-earth-orbit (LEO) networks like Telesat Lightspeed support open standards and multiband flexibility, so warfighters are never constrained by the network they use. Agency acquisition decision-makers need to know that whatever terminals they buy ensure freedom of choice, working with both legacy and new satellites that will be integrated into future DoW space architecture.
A digital environment that supports informed decision-making
From modeling the concept of operations (ConOps) to system design, validation, and more, digital twin-based simulation will allow the USSF to gain a deeper understanding of new systems’ capabilities before buying them. For instance, enabling earlier development of tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) empowers warfighters to rehearse with a weapon system, understand it and know what to expect upon deployment. The result is faster adoption and time-to-mission-effect from assets once they are placed in orbit.
Rather than developing systems independently, using a digital-twin environment also streamlines engineering of a broader system of systems – simulating operations across a whole environment and detailing how individual systems need to operate and interoperate within it. The USSF’s Space War Fighting Analysis Center is already leveraging this method to support effective force design. As future capabilities are planned, digital modeling will ensure a more efficient approach from the start.
The right contract mechanisms to make it all work
USSF must be able to source capability on a timeline that keeps pace with the evolving threat environment. Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman has clearly articulated this importance with his “exploit, buy, build” framework, prioritizing existing commercial capabilities before committing to building sovereign solutions.
That construct demands agile acquisition pathways. While the USSF had traditionally relied on the now-retired Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS) process, the DoW has always had bypass processes for urgent operational needs when situations required. The current threat environment is forcing the agency to recognize that all capabilities, including space-based ones, are urgent and compelling. Sourcing the technologies needed to bolster defenses in this environment requires modifications to customary acquisition methods.
A significant challenge to resilient SATCOM architecture is the planning, programming, budgeting and execution (PPBE) process, which is predominantly driven by Congressional schedules and oversight. A multi-year cycle of planning and appropriations in the current threat environment is too slow and puts our warfighters at a disadvantage. With limited industry capacity to launch additional satellites and high global demand for SATCOM, inventory needs to be reserved well in advance. Commercial entities know this and are aggressively making multi-year commitments to meet their projected requirements.
The DoW already has a proven mechanism for securing terrestrial connectivity requirements. Indefeasible Rights of Use (IRUs) provide long-term access to fiber infrastructure, offering a model of “owning” fiber capacity without actually owning the fiber circuit. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) leverages this model to acquire dark fiber capacity to U.S. bases with procurement dollars. Extending the IRU model to satellite capacity offers an effective way to ensure SATCOM capabilities not only in a single fiscal year but also farther down the road.
The DoW is being open to new ways of doing business and accelerating commercial technology adoption. Telesat Government Solutions is proud to be a trusted partner in that mission. As the Department’s strategic approach progresses, planning and execution must be supported by flexible, interoperable architectures, advanced digital capabilities and assurance of needed space-based capability for years to come. Telesat Lightspeed is ready to deliver across all these requirements.
