Food Fight! Navy Man Bites Air Force Satellite Dog
Navy Hits USAF On Satellite Acquisition (UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL 17 MAR 08)WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy has told lawmakers it fears being short-changed when cuts are made to over-budget spy satellite programs run by the Air Force.
In unusually blunt testimony, Rear Adm. Kenneth Deutsch, director of warfare integration in the Navy’s communications networks office, raised a series of concerns about the U.S. Air Force’s management of some Defense satellite programs.
The March 4 testimony was first reported by GovernmentExecutive.Com’s Bob Brewin, who said it broke (an) unspoken code of conduct” that “top officials of the four services … usually take pains to not take shots at each other.”
Deutsch said satellite programs managed by the Air Force, which is the Defense Department’s executive agent for space, “tend to shortchange” — in Brewin’s phrase — Navy requirements and missions.
“Without active Navy involvement today in ongoing deliberations over future satellite programs, the Navy risks operating in future scenarios with multibillion-dollar National Security Space systems sub-optimized for the maritime environment, which is increasingly important as maritime domain awareness requirements are developed.”
He told the hearing it was important Navy official were involved from the start in planning the satellite acquisition programs, which take years to reach fruition and are notorious for running over budget.
“Due to the long lead times involved, it is therefore critical that naval requirements and maritime missions be factored into the pre-launch design and planned in-orbit operation of all future satellite systems being considered for acquisition through the (Defense Department) executive agent for space,” he said.
In his testimony, he fretted that many such programs already “face technological and budgetary hurdles, which could force future capability trade-offs affecting the maritime environment and could ultimately impact their utility to the Navy.
**********************
COMMITTEE: Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
Navy Man Bites Air Force Satellite Dog
http://armed-services.senate.gov/statemnt/2008/March/Deutsch%2003-04-08.pdf
When top officials of the four services appear before congressional committees, they usually take pains to not take shots at each other.
That’s a wise move, or a hearing could end up a partisan food fight.
Rear Admiral Kenneth Deutsch, director of warfare integration in the Navy’s communications networks office, broke this unspoken code of conduct on March 4 when he took some rather direct shots at Defense satellite programs managed by the Air Force.
Deutsch told the committee that satellite programs managed by the Air Force, which is the Defense executive agent for space, tend to shortchange Navy requirements and missions. “Without active Navy involvement today in ongoing deliberations over future satellite programs, the Navy risks operating in future scenarios with multibillion-dollar National Security Space systems suboptimized for the maritime environment, which is increasingly important as maritime domain awareness requirements are developed.”He told the hearing that “due to the long lead times involved, it is therefore critical that naval requirements and maritime missions be factored into the pre-launch design and planned in-orbit operation of all future satellite systems being considered for acquisition through the DoD executive agent for space..”
Deutsche said many satellite programs currently under development “face technological and budgetary hurdles, which could force future capability trade-offs affecting the maritime environment and could ultimately impact their utility to the Navy.” He added the service intends to press its case with Defense leadership to ensure its “needs in space are identified, understood, resourced and protected.”
How Deutsch will make this happen, I don’t know. Maybe send a carrier battle group after the Air Force?
March 31st, 2008 at 8:14 pm
Cool. The navy is irritated at space management by the air force. Well, there is no such thing as air & space power regardless of what the Air Staff says. There’s air power and space power. The navy should have as much access to space power as does the air force. Its natural that the blue suiter project managers shortchange (even if unintentionally) the navy in space decisions.
Oh, but a neutral and independent space service is a bad thing…