The Department of Defense (DoD) has released a new plan to establish a modernized and holistic satellite communications (SATCOM) network.
The Enterprise Satellite Communications Management and Control (ESC-MC) Implementation Plan – published on Jan. 18 – establishes a foundation for the DoD SATCOM community, and fields capabilities in a phased manner “to begin the incremental improvement of the management of SATCOM” as soon as possible.
“Modernizing our DoD SATCOM into a resilient enterprise that supports tactically-relevant enterprise capabilities directly supports the United States Space Force’s Vision for Satellite Communications and begins to implement the concepts of the Department’s Digital Modernization Strategy,” DoD CIO John Sherman said in a statement included in the document.
According to the new plan, modernizing DoD’s SATCOM capabilities into a resilient enterprise will take a phased approach led by several of the department’s agencies and commands.
Specifically, Space Command will act as the global SATCOM operations manager and operator of the ESC-MC capability, Space Force as the force design architect, the DoD CIO as the lead architect, and the Defense Information Systems Agency as a DoD enterprise service provider and DoD Information Network representative.
The plan includes three phases of implementation, which begin this fiscal year establishing ESC-MC governance and standards. It’s also broken down into three imperatives: integrating data management, automating resource allocation, and fusing situational awareness.
According to the new plan, the ESC-MC will enable DoD SATCOM modernization through its development of and access to core enterprise capabilities.
“These capabilities will increase the flexibility, agility, and resiliency of DoD SATCOM while leveraging the full use of a hybrid, heterogeneous enterprise that issues the best mix of commercial and military solutions,” the document states.
In addition, the plan lists seven core capabilities that must be achieved:
- Mobility and continuous communications;
- ESC Management Common Operating Environment;
- Enterprise SATCOM Situational;
- Awareness/Common Operational Picture;
- Automated resource allocation;
- Electromagnetic interference mitigation;
- Continuity of operations; and
- Element/enterprise network interface.
