July 11, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
The Pentagon’s need for commercial satellite service will increase dramatically over the next 10 years, according to a recent market study. NSR, a consultancy based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, projects that global annual government and military purchases of commercial satellite bandwidth will increase from $1 billion in 2003 to $4.8 billion by 2012, and will be $25 billion by 2016. Jose del Rosario, an analyst at NSR and author of the report, said that the Pentagon will be the main driver of the projected growth due to ongoing operations in the Middle East and domestic homeland security needs. “Although the military wants to be independent of commercial assets and launch proprietary systems, its ever-increasing bandwidth requirements necessitate the incorporation of commercial satellite assets,” he said.
The Pentagon’s increased reliance on space-based technologies underscores the need for space-based defenses. As of now, these assets remain undefended and vulnerable to foreign attack. (Article)
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