AUSA Show Daily | Army scrambles to secure satellite links in the face of growing threats

View this email in your browser SpaceNews show daily, Oct. 9-11 October 9, 2017 SPACENEWS' DAILY COVERAGE BROUGHT TO YOU BY In the face of growing threats, Army scrambles to secure satellite links Sandra Erwin — A recent examination of the Army's combat networks turned out to be a huge wakeup call: The technology is not up to the job of ensuring systems are protected from enemy electronic attacks. Following years of experiments and failed procurements, the Army is back to the drawing board in its efforts to acquire modern tactical networks that are reliable and resilient for combat use. A vulnerable satellite infrastructure has sent Army officials scrambling in search of solutions. In areas like satellite anti-jamming and secure communications, the Army is seeking new products from the private sector and trying to patch up existing systems. Army rolls out new plan to modernize communications networks and weapons Sandra Erwin — Frustration over lagging modernization has reached a tipping point in the U.S. Army. Rising powers like Russia and China are arming their militaries with advanced weapons and electronic warfare systems that could threaten U.S. dominance in precision-guided missiles and communications technologies. Army leaders acknowledge that a dysfunctional procurement system is mostly to blame and are moving to reorganize the service's Vietnam-era bureaucracy. The Army is especially pressed to improve its technology game as Russia continues to flaunt advances in ground and electronic warfare, including spy drones and jammers that disrupt satellite communications and navigation. "We will be drilling down hard on that one," Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said of electronic warfare. ASRC 3D prints fuel injector prototype for RD-180 successor Caleb Henry — ASRC of Beltsville, Md., has test fired a subscale propellant injector built via additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, paving the way for a version that could support whichever engine United Launch Alliance chooses to replace the Russian-built RD-180 on the Atlas 5 rocket. ASRC's Federal Technical Services division conducted the full-power test in April, retiring risk on an engine component that could potentially be built in a quarter of the time of previous techniques.  "We reduced production time for this injector to eight days, which would have been over a month using traditional machining," Joseph Sims, ASRC Federal Technical Services project manager, told SpaceNews. "We also reduced parts count from five parts to a single part." Air Force Reserve grooming space warriors Sandra Erwin — The House legislation that spins off portions of the U.S. Air Force into a dedicated space corps may not survive upcoming negotiations with the Senate, which has not endorsed the move. Regardless, there is broad agreement in Congress that military space has not received proper attention from an aviation-focused service, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry  (R-Texas) told reporters Thursday. "I think there is absolutely no disagreement among anybody, including the Air Force, that space is not going well," said Thornberry. "The only question is what is the right answer?" The Senate's defense policy bill that has yet to be reconciled with the House version does not call for a space corps but directs the Pentagon to appoint an information-warfare officer to oversee cyber and space. Follow SpaceNews Advertise with Us SN FIRST UP Satcom is sent out every Wednesday by SpaceNews Staff Writer Caleb Henry and SpaceNews Editor-in-Chief Brian Berger. Copyright © 2017 SPACENEWS, All rights reserved.