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5 February 2005 |
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http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?... |
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military on Saturday launched a five-day war game to see how space-based assets such as satellite communications and precision bomb guidance systems would fare in a hypothetical war against terrorism in 2020. "This is not warfare in space. Our focus is how to best use our space-based assets to coordinate the joint terrestrial fight," said Brig. Gen. Daniel Darnell, commander of the Space Warfare Center at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado. Over the past decade, the U.S. military has come to rely to a huge extent on satellites to relay communications, transmit high-resolution imagery; track U.S. forces; spot enemy missiles and guide precision munitions to their targets. The classified tabletop war game, the third focused primarily on space, involves 250 military and civilian experts from about 20 federal agencies, and officials from Canada, Australia and Britain, all gathered at the isolated base on the plains east of Colorado Springs. The game will pit friendly "blue" forces against enemy "red" forces, including state and non-state actors, some wielding weapons of mass destruction, Darnell said. The first space-based war game, which took place in January 2001 focused on growing tensions between the United States and China in 2017. A second war game was held in February 2003. The Air Force, conscious of growing budget pressures on military SPEED DATA HANDLING Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper also wanted to speed up the way various systems processed and handled data, especially in determining whether to
engage a target. He conceded the game assumed completion of several Air Force space systems still under development, including Space-Based Radar and Transformational Satellite Communications System. Congress cut the budgets of both last year. "There is somewhat of a leap of faith," he said. For the first time, the game will also include "near space" aircraft operating above 65,000 feet but below an outer space orbit, which the Air Force sees as a promising new area for intelligence gathering and surveillance. The Air Force hopes to begin operating the first of these new aircraft, such as helium-filled free-floating balloons and remotely controlled glider-like vehicles, within a year. Darnell said such near-space aircraft could help provide the U.S. military with its own eyes and ears, complementing the intelligence satellites that now provide surveillance and reconnaissance data to U.S. forces. The new class of aircraft would be valuable in terms of tracking U.S. forces on the ground, and providing persistent signals gathering capability, he said. Top U.S. companies in the defense satellite making and launching business include Lockheed Martin Corp, Boeing Co and Northrop Grumman Corp.
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