UK takes control of Skynet 4D

LONDON: Officials at Royal Air Force (RAF) Oakhanger, the UK's main satellite operations center, will take control in May 1998 of Europe's newest military communications satellite, the Skynet 4D. The system was manufactured by Matra Marconi Space -- a joint venture involving Lagardhre (France) and the General Electric Company (UK) -- and was launched into space in January 1998.

The Skynet 4D will allow defense planners and controllers to communicate more effectively with military forces engaged increasingly in operations around the world. This development not only marks a significant advance in the UK's ability to project power overseas, but also represents a strategic step forward for leading non-superpower states such as France and Germany.

The Skynet 4D will play a significant role in the UK government's plans to restructure its global expeditionary forces -- details of which are expected to be announced this summer in the UK Strategic Defense Review. Skynet 4D is the first of three new military satellites that will replace the existing Skynet 4A, 4B and 4C systems. These satellites were all designed and built for the UK Ministry of Defense (MOD) in the late 1980s, primarily for use in Europe during the Cold War.

Although the first-generation Skynets proved valuable in the 1991 Gulf War and the 1992-1995 conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, they were not designed to meet the communication requirements of wide-ranging military operations. As a result, they have often had to be steered out of their orbits to positions where they can best relay messages via their fixed-direction antennae. The oldest of these satellites -- the Skynet 4B -- is running out of orbital-control propellant and its energy-producing solar panels are slightly distorted. RAF controllers report that the system will have to be withdrawn from service later this year.

The Skynet 4D, 4E and 4F satellites have a number of major new features, including:

* wider bandwidths, allowing for much heavier communications traffic;

* steerable 'spot' antennae, enabling operators to direct communications to whatever parts of the world they wish to focus on, rather than having to move the entire satellite into a new orbit;

* increased electrical power; and

* better anti-jamming capabilities, assuring greater message security and preventing signals from being distorted by electronic interference or by the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) of a nuclear explosion.

The Skynet 4E and 4F satellites are respectively due to be launched on Ariane booster rockets in September 1998 and September 1999. They are scheduled to be placed in a geo- stationary orbit 33,000 kilometers above the Equator. With an operational life of seven years, they will give controllers the option of using a greater range of ultra- and super-high frequencies.

The introduction of the new Skynet systems means that soldiers around the world will be able to use the satellites simultaneously. They will act as a 'force multiplier' providing speedier and safer communications at a total cost of 430 million pound sterlings (US$710 million).

The shortcomings of the older systems were revealed in 1997 during Exercise Ocean Wave in the Far East, when 20 vessels used up almost all of the three older satellites' spare capacity. As a result, troops serving with the Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia, RAF crews stationed in the Middle East and training personnel in Canada found that they had to ration their use of satellite communications. Some messages to and from the UK were sent by relay radio, and some lower-priority messages had to be disseminated using old-fashioned air mail.

The UK is now the second biggest user of military communication satellites after the U.S., and fulfills a key role for NATO. Matra Marconi Space built the Alliance's two current military satellites -- NATO 4A and 4B -- which are almost identical to the Skynets. The NATO satellites are operated by personnel at the RAF Oakhanger, Colerne and Defford ground stations. Oakhanger also provides telemetry and data for U.S. military satellites and Space Shuttle voice links for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The UK is generally considered to have opted out of the space race in the mid-1960s after abandoning its Blue Streak ballistic missile program. Instead, London reached an agreement with Washington to obtain most of its space-based information from U.S. satellites in exchange for supplying Washington with terrestrial-based intelligence from Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).

However, the UK and France are now the largest manufacturers of satellites in Europe. Matra Marconi Space is due to launch ten satellites in 1998 and a further 70 over the next two years. The Anglo-French company -- due to be amalgamated in July 1998 with the German defense firm, Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) -- claims to have global orders totaling $2.2 billion and employs 4,800 people, more than half in the UK.

Although satellites remain one of the UK's most profitable high-technology industries, the government is only now beginning to use them for other civilian and military purposes. In March 1998, for instance, an extra 21 million pound sterlings ($35 million) was earmarked to:

* purchase technology that will allow doctors and teachers to work with patients and pupils in remote areas;

* fund the ERS-2 remote-sensing satellite; and

* help develop a new earth observation system that will identify oil reserves, better crop locations and remote forest fires.

The UK administration is also seeking to cooperate with its European partners on military intelligence projects. For example, the government is currently negotiating with France and Germany for involvement in the Hilios 2 and Horus reconnaissance programs -- due to be launched respectively in 2001 and 2005 -- although the German government has canceled funding for Horus.

Like new roads, an expanded satellite capability seems to stimulate, as much as accommodate, more communication traffic. Greater availability has also led to the transmission of less important messages. The U.S., in particular, has such a high capacity and demand for satellite communications that its priority protocols sometimes seem inconsistent with those of its allies. During NATO's 1996 Northern Wedding exercise, for instance, a routine U.S. Marine Corps request for food supplies was reportedly given the same priority as an urgent signal from the French aircraft carrier Foch requesting information on 'enemy' fighters that its radar had detected moving towards the vessel.

In response to the extra demand for satellite communications experienced during the 1991 Gulf War, the Pentagon is producing a next-generation Global Broadcast Service (GBS) -- transmitting up to 96 megabytes per second -- to succeed the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) system. The first Navy F8 UHF Follow-On satellite was launched into orbit above the Pacific Ocean on March 16, 1998. The new GBS system will be able to disseminate vast amounts of data and imagery, as well as last-minute target updates to cruise missiles while they are still airborne. The second GBS satellite, F9, is to be placed over the Atlantic Ocean in September; the F10 will be positioned above the Indian Ocean a few months later.

Demand for the GBS system is so high that U.S. officials are considering accelerating the project. Commercial developments in television satellite technology -- GBS was achieved by converting the commercial Ku-band to the military Ka-band -- have helped greatly to reduce costs and development times. U.S. officials now expect communication satellites to be partly commercial and partly military within five years.

European military forces are not yet required to use GBS technology. Instead, Bonn, London and Paris signed an agreement in December 1997 to develop an advanced Tri-National Military Satellite Communications (Trimilsatcom) system. This $2.6 billion program calls for the joint construction and operation of at least four Super High Frequency (SHF) and UHF satellites. These systems would replace the Skynets and Syracuse transponders on the French government's multipurpose and largely civilian telecommunications satellite, Telecom 2. Invitations to tender have been sent to Matra Marconi Space and Alcatel-Espace (France). The Trimilsatcom -- due to be completed in approximately 2006 - would give France and Germany their first military communication satellite systems.

The UK is also considering seeking private finance to construct independently a Skynet 5 series. The new system would be leased to the MOD, but other terminals on the same satellite would be made available to civilian customers.

Commercial competition has made space-based communication increasingly inexpensive and easy to acquire. There are already 900 satellites in orbit, with hundreds more due to be dispatched over the next few years. The strategic implications of these developments for military forces include:

* precision-guided weapons can be directed to their targets more accurately than ever before; and

* pilots and force commanders can receive images and data in close to real time.

Many technologically emerging countries are now increasingly interested in obtaining space-based communications because they are cheaper and faster. For example, India has its own space program, and plans to have 12 satellites in orbit by 2004. Most of these are remote-sensing systems -- helping the country to prepare for droughts and floods -- but at least three are for communication purposes. Indonesia has had a telecommunications satellite since 1976 -- well ahead of Europe.

Malaysia, the Philippines and the Republic of Korea all have their own satellites; Singapore is sharing a system with Taiwan. Most of these satellites are leased under national or private commercial agreements. Egypt is buying a satellite from Matra Marconi, and two Russian companies are purchasing a system from Aerospatiale.

The use of these satellites for military communications could greatly enhance the fighting power of these countries in the event of war with their neighbors. Ease of communication will also enable them to deploy smaller forces faster and more effectively in response to local eruptions of civil unrest.

-- IISS