The new small satellite of the US Air Force can counter China's space weaponsThe US Air Force is developing a new generation of smaller, faster, and higher throughput satellites to counter China's developing space weapons.Ultra low Earth orbit satellites are designed to provide faster, more complete, and integrated information transmission for commanders on the battlefield.

The Air Force Research Laboratory is collaborating with industry to build a new generation of smaller, faster, and higher throughput satellites that can bring higher resolution images, challenge China's space weapons, and provide more from a single aircraftInformation and provide more authentic data- Time, sensitive information for war commanders.

The emerging satellites, known as ultra-low Earth orbit (vLEO), have brought exponential growth in bandwidth and throughput, increasing the number of satellites reaching Earth.The increased throughput pipeline has increased the connectivity between aircraft and ground from 1.5 Mbps per second to 600 Mbps per second, "Chad Vuyovich, MAG Air Force Special Operations Program Director, told Warrior Maven.

The current testing and experiments include an aerospace company called MAG Aerospace, AFRL, and the Air Force Special Operations Command, who are considering combining the new satellite with the iconic AC-130 armed helicopter.

Newer satellites aim to achieve faster, more complete, and integrated information transmission, such as real-time videos, images, maps, emails, and chat messages from surveillance aircraft. Along with other things.If you try to push any high-definition stream through the current architecture without significant compression and quality reduction, it will completely congest the network to an inoperable state. If you send a 10MB (megabyte) image, it will temporarily prevent any other information from passing through the network for a few minutes at a time, "Vuyovich said.The increased throughput has brought many direct combat impacts. By utilizing the technological capability of collecting and organizing data from multiple sensors simultaneously, vLEO enables one or two aircraft to perform tasks that currently require four or five platformsFunction.

Vuyovich explained that the vLEO system is not only closer to the ground, but also much faster than geostationary satellites, which can only travel at the speed of the Earth's rotation. This will limit the speed of collecting and processing information.VLEO satellites must move quickly. They must move much faster than the Earth's rotation to maintain their orbit. In order to remain stationary and in orbit at a point above the Earth, the satellite will be positioned at an altitude of 40000 kilometers above the Earth's surface, "Vuyovich said.

VLEO satellites are about 550 kilometers above the Earth's surface, while Earth orbiting satellites are about 40000 kilometers away from the Earth. At a distance of 500 kilometers, the transmission time of RF signals is much faster than that to GEO satellites at 40000 kilometers -80 times faster.

Then, when you consider propagation, the signal strength is 100 times higher when it reaches vLEO because RF does not dissipate or weaken like it does at great distances to GEO satellites, "he added.GEO motion is the same as Earth's rotation, while vLEO rotates faster than Earth. Satellites with faster speeds and lower altitudes may also have the additional advantage of reducing collisions with debris filled space conditions. The Ministry of National Defense explained that there are currently over 17000 softball or larger objects in space, of which only about 1200 are satellites.

Furthermore, perhaps most importantly, current GEO satellites require compressed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) information, such as real-time video feeds from drones or fixed wing aircraft.Vuyovich explained that the compression used by GEO satellites greatly damages the resolution and quality of images obtained from satellite cameras and sensors. In fact, some of the significant technological benefits currently achieved by GEO satellites in terms of sensor range, resolution, fidelity, and functionality will be lost, damaged, or at least not fully utilized.

Software compression reduces the quality or size of files and eliminates updatesAll the progress. We don't have a large enough network transmission to process the content we collect in real time, "losing the benefits of high-quality sensors," Vuyovich added.So far, it has been integrated with fixed wing aircraft such as reconnaissance planes or AC-130, but over time, it is expected that this technology can also be used on drones. The developers explained that drone applications require strengthened or secure network connections to prevent information from being hacked, blocked, or hijacked.

MAG is testing the first aircraft to understand the operation of the system and its ability to maintain fast traffic, as well as evaluating the limitations of what we can do with additional throughput. We ensure that when we create this new architecture, it is built in a way that supports secure communication, "Vuyovich explained.The emerging newer satellites have also reduced latency and eliminated most of the current demand for "post-processing" information, as critical access can only be obtained when the aircraft returns.

Naturally, faster, higher technology, and larger data streams allow commanders to avoid spending critical combat time waiting for complete or more comprehensive intelligence data. For example, he or she can simultaneously view from moreReal time, high-resolution video feeds, maps and navigation data, images, messages, and information, such as ground moving target informationThe reality is that when you are in a leading position, you need a more complete information graph to make the best decisions, and there is no chance to wait for the plane to land and for information to be processed afterwards. Combat commanders only have a few minutes to make life or death decisions, and by using the vLEO architecture, their situational awareness capabilities have increased by 100 times, "said Vujovic.

It is interesting that installing a large number of rapidly moving satellites will bring about technological adjustments consistent with the Air Force's space warfare strategy. Recognizing the rapid growth of space weaponization and the potential emergence of space launched weapons and anti satellite technology, Air Force strategists emphasized various strategies such as decomposition and redundancy.

It sounds like decomposition is the process of dispersing satellite assets over large areas of space to prevent enemies from targeting a single device or a denser group of space assets. In some cases, achieving this through greatly improved computer processing and data sharing over longer distances makes it more difficult for enemies to disable satellite systems. Redundancy is also the foundation of the Air Force's space program, as it increases the likelihood of satellite functionality continuing to function in certain situations where it is shot down.Considering these strategic objectives, the developers of vLEO anticipate that smaller satellites with faster mobility and larger numbers will not only be more difficult to hit by enemies, but also bring a "redundancy" advantage.According to the Air Force Space Command, the Air Force has been working to manage small facilities and geographically separated units in North Dakota, Alaska, Hawaii, and other regions.

Although the initial strategic intent of vLEO seemed to be to provide commanders with faster and more complete critical combat information, it did not require much imagination to imagine how these satellites could improve the tactics of American space warfare. Satellites with faster speeds, better networks, and significantly increased throughput will naturally bring many combat advantages, including targeting, fast moving attacks, aerial combat networks, and even deploying some non-existent space weapons.In recent years, the space threat has been established, inspiring the United States to prepare for the prospect of space warfare for a long time, not to mention the combat environment rejected by GPS. Of course, as is well known, China has tested anti satellite weapons and effectively proposed equations far beyond what was previously believed to exist in space as some kind of "shelter". This idea has long disappeared into thin air.

A 2016 report by the Atlantic Council titled "Towards a New National Space Security Strategy: Timing for Strategic Rebalance" specifically cited China and Russia's space war initiative.China's test, following closely behind Russia and China's test of maneuverable satellites in low Earth orbit - a capability that has only recently been proven by the United States - has sparked some kind of 'quiet panic' within the national space security community, "the report stated.

The final report submitted by the Pentagon to Congress in August 2018 on the organizational and management structure of the Department of Defense's national security space component clearly stated further technological advancements aimed at weaponizing space and expanding threat perception far beyond the details of the 2016 Atlantic Council article. National Defense Committee.Some new Russian and Chinese anti satellite weapons, including destructive systems, may be developed in the coming years. Both countries are advancing directed energy weapons to deploy anti satellite systems, "the report stated.It is evident that vLEO satellites may be able to further utilize new space warfare applications to counter threats from Russia and China - and develop space oriented laser and electronic warfare.

Osborne previously served as a highly skilled expert in procurement, logistics, and technology in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon. Osborne also served as a broadcaster and military expert on the national television network. He holds a Master's degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.