Why are Communications Important? A Maritime View Bob Stephenson COMSPAWAR
“Going to sea used to be fun. Then we got radios.” Arleigh A. Burke Admiral US Navy
The Revolution in Communications 1990 19.2 KBS UHF SATCOM 1994 SHF 256 KBS (First use of DSCS) 1998 I MBS to carriers, 64 KBS to FFGs (IT-21) 2003 52 MBS to USS Abraham Lincoln for President’s speech 2009 DSCS Wideband Satellite IOC. 8 MBS to CVNS, 512 KBS to DDGs 2010 “Split IP” 8 MBS up 25 MBS down
What do we do? Power projection Real time common operational picture Ballistic Missile Defense Coalition Operations Humanitarian Assistance /Disaster relief Anti piracy ISR
POWER PROJECTION COMMUNICATIONS IS ESSENTIAL FOR C2 AND TARGETING ALLOWS US TO UTILIZE OUR PRECISION GUIDED WEAPONS WE ARE NOT JUST A JOINT, BUT ALSO A COALITION FORCE
ISR WIDE RANGE OF UNMANNED AIR AND SUBSURFACE VEHICLES BEING DEPLOYED LONG RANGE ISR REQUIRES SATCOM FOR C2 OF THE VEHICLE AND TO RECEIVE DATA FROM THE VEHICLE WORKING TO MAKE SURE WE ARE ABLE TO RECEVIE AND PROCESS ALL THE DATA
OTHER OPERATIONS COUNTER PIRACY COUNTER NARCOTICS THE NEW NORMAL HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND DISASTER RELIEF OPERATIONS ARE BECOMING COMMON PLACE SUMATRA NEW ORLEANS HAITI JAPAN COUNTER PIRACY COUNTER NARCOTICS THEATER SECURITY OPERATIONS
LOGISTICS A CRITICAL ENABLING CAPABILITY LIKE MANY OTHER ENTERPRISES WE RELY ON JUST IN TIME LOGISTICS TO SUPPORT OUR GLOBAL OPERATIONS MODERN AIRCRAFT AND OTHER SYSTEMS RELY ON COMMUNICATIONS BACK TO CONUS TO HELP MAINTAIN THEIR READINESS
What do we do next? Protect it as best we can Figure out how to operate if its not there