The Air Force has contracted with Space Data Corp. to provide a communications system that will aid battlefield communications from a balloon-borne platform in near space. Tests have shown that the system can extend ground-to-ground voice and data communications from 10 miles to more than 400 miles. The latest experiment took place this spring under a program called Combat Skysat. The contract award is $49 million.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
