[107814] in Cypherpunks
Will Iridium Become SatCom Of Choice?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steve Schear)
Sun Jan 24 19:19:34 1999
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 16:08:48 -0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
From: Steve Schear <schear@lvcm.com>
Reply-To: Steve Schear <schear@lvcm.com>
[Although Iridium can enable many military operations it also opens up the
opportunity (via a hack or break-in) for adversaries to clandestinely close
track and monitor one another's operations]
Will Iridium Become SatCom Of Choice?
Schriever AFB - January 22, 1999 - The Air Force's Space
Battlelab is nearing the end of its evaluation of new commercial
mobile satellite communication capabilities for the Department of
Defense that could change the way all the services do business.
The lab, in the last phase of its testing, has sent 130 of Motorola's
Iridium satellite phones to all the warfighting commanders-in-chief to
be evaluated in the field. The phone, only slightly larger than the
average cellular phone, provides mobile worldwide service, unlike
ground-based systems that have limited service areas. The pagers also
have worldwide coverage.
Air Force leadership has a strong interest in new commercial
space-based technology.
"We've given Iridium hand sets to our forward air controllers in
Bosnia to test, and they've been able to use them to call in mock air
support," said Whit Peters, acting Secretary of the Air Force. "We've
also used them for air traffic control at Tuzla (Bosnia). It's very
interesting when you look at these commercial systems. I think they
will leverage a lot of the military systems we already have. The Air
Force is very interested in learning how to use these types of
systems."
The Iridium system and other commercial products have the capability
to drastically change the way the Air Force does business.
"I think we are looking at a whole new paradigm in space - the
commercial providers are going to be much more capable of meeting
military needs at a lower cost. Now we need to look at how we can do
our missions to take maximum advantage of that," said Peters.
Early results of the worldwide field-testing, which began Dec. 1, have
been encouraging.
"Anyone who uses or hears about the capabilities of this phone wants
one," said 1st Lt. Timothy Oran, chief of information operation
concepts at the space battlelab. "We've made calls from an Air Force
plane flying at 30,000 feet, and from a floating buoyant cable for the
Navy just 25 miles north of the Arctic Circle."
The Space Battlelab does not make decisions about fielding these
units, but it does report on the capabilities, flexibility and
limitations of the technology, then makes recommendations to the Air
Staff who does make the fielding decisions.
For example, the Air Force could put a system in every cockpit that
would allow commanders anywhere in the world to talk directly with the
pilots. "This may do away with some command and control systems, or
enhance existing ones," said Oran. "Maybe the Army could use the
Iridium pager and connect it to an handheld computer to enhance the
real-time flow of information for their digital battlefield concept."
"It's now possible our special operations forces won't need to lug
around suitcase-sized satellite phones like we have now -- these small
handheld units will do," said Maj. Jim Traverse, chief of intelligence
concepts for the space battlelab. "The possibilities are endless."
Although the phones might sound expensive at nearly $3,400 each, with
airtime that averages $5 a minute, the DOD stands to save a lot of
money for the capability it would get.
"It would cost billions to deploy a comparable system," said Oran.
"Then, you would have to have the people to run and maintain the
system."
In addition to finding new and cheaper ways of performing its
missions, the DOD testing could also help improve the capabilities and
functionality of the whole Iridium system.
"The military is using our products and services in applications and
situations that are different from our commercial customers," said
Steve Michell, Program Manager, Motorola Worldwide Network Services.
"The test results from the Space Battlelab will not only help us meet
the military's need, but could enhance our service to all our
customers."
From the earpieces that allow hands-free use of the phones, to the
sound quality of the connections, the battlelab's field users are
scrutinizing and reporting on a vast array of items.
"We've found that although the phone was not intended to work inside a
building, it often does," said Oran. Findings like this could lead to
other uses for the system that were never considered.
"We are just starting to understand the vast capabilities this system
may offer," said Oran. "As the Iridium and other commercial systems
come on-line, we will have to rethink the way we do business."
