Defense Satellite Communications

The Defense Department (DOD) plans to acquire a follow-on system to its Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS), which supports worldwide satellite communications for the National Command Authorities, intelligence users, and military forces. The current plan calls for replacing DSCS in 2006; until replacement, the system would be replenished by satellites in the inventory, even though DOD projects that demand for satellite communications will increase significantly and outpace the capacity of the DSCS replenishment satellites. To the extent that anticipated requirements are not met by DSCS, users will lease satellite communications from commercial providers. According to GAO, the government could save $2.8 billion by replacing DSCS in 2003 instead of 2006, substantially reducing the need to lease commercial satellite services.

GAO noted that: (1) during the next decade, DOD anticipates that its requirements for high-capacity satellite communications will increase significantly because of the: (a) shift in the national military strategy; and (b) increasing availability of advanced satellite communication technologies and services and DOD's desire to take advantage of such technologies; (2) DOD's Joint Requirements Oversight Council plans to review these requirements later this year; (3) DSCS' replenishment satellites, most of which are to have twice the capacity of the existing operational satellites, are not expected to keep pace with the projected requirements; (4) to the extent that these requirements are not satisfied by the system, the users' alternative would be to lease satellite communications from commercial providers; (5) funding for the replacement of the system in FY 2006 is to be requested starting in FY 2001; (6) meanwhile, the projected requirements are expected to continue increasing, which will force increases in the leasing of commercial satellite communication services to meet unsatisfied requirements; (7) a DOD analysis indicates that commercial leasing is more costly than acquiring equivalent commercial-like capabilities; (8) according to military satellite communications program representatives and studies, the first launch of a replacement satellite would be technically feasible in FY 2003; (9) GAO's analysis of the effect on costs of this 2003 alternative, compared to DOD's 2006 plan, indicates that the government could save about $2.8 billion in future years; and (10) the alternative, however, would require DOD to transfer about $945 million in planned funding from FY 2004-2006 to its FY 1999-2003 future years defense program.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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