Jeff has been involved in aerospace journalism since the mid 1990s. Prior to joining Aviation Week, Jeff served as managing editor of Launchspace magazine and the International Space Industry Report. He has been the editor and chief of Aviation Week's Aerospace Daily & Defense Report since 2007 and has been a regular contributor to Aviation Week magazine. He received his B.A. from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
More bandwidth is not the panacea for alleviating Air Force communications problems, but smarter use of that bandwidth may be, according to Gen. Gregory "Speedy" Martin, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe. "I hear an awful lot of discussion about how we need more bandwidth," said Martin, speaking at the National Aerospace Systems and Technology Conference in Dayton, Ohio, on May 15. He compared the current problem with bandwidth to airlift limitations.
With the goal of evolving from a force enhancer to a force provider, Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) is pursuing new concepts that will eventually enable what one general called "sorties in space." Brig. Gen. Russell J. Anarde, director of plans and programs at AFSPC, said that while this sortie capability will "probably not have the same quickness of turnaround," as that in aviation, it will still allow "rapid replenishment of space assets, or servicing, as required."
Despite ongoing Department of Defense efforts to alert industry to the danger, commercial satellite systems remain undefended from the effects of nuclear explosions in space, according to specialists in nuclear threat deterrence. The radiation effects from even a single low-yield detonation in orbit could produce major disruptions in communications capability that could last for months.
