What the attendees heard extensively from Mr. Beauchamp and Mr. Tarleton was the need for the military to make its satellite infrastructure more resilient and more efficient. Both individuals also discussed the use of COMSATCOM to assist the military in accomplishing those goals.

Following the event, we had the opportunity to ask Mr. Beauchamp and Mr. Tarleton about the Air Force’s Pathfinder programs and rumblings about a new RFP that would ultimately swing the daily operations of the MILSATCOM satellite constellations, WGS and DSCS, to commercial partners in commercial facilities. This is a change that would seemingly contradict the Air Force’s traditional reticence towards controlling and managing its assets internally.

To learn more about what that RFP would entail, the challenges it may face from military decision makers, and why the time is right to move the daily operations of military satellite constellations to commercial partners, we followed up by asking a few additional questions to Mr. Tarleton. Here is what he had to say:

Government Satellite Report (GSR): What is the timeframe for the WGS RFP? When is this expected to be released to industry partners? Considering the timing of the RFP, when do you think that management of these constellations could, conceivably, transition to an industry partner?

Mr. Tarleton: We are pushing to release a draft RFP in February of 2017. The Air Force will always retain oversight and responsibility for constellation management, this effort will enable the potential use of contractor facilities and personnel to perform the daily telemetry, tracking, and control functions under the direction of the Air Force.

The potential future direction to proceed to a contractor’s facility will be informed by the operational community and a decision by Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) with the timing still in discussion.

GSR: What benefit is the Air Force anticipating from outsourcing the management and control of the WGS (and potentially DSCS) constellations to industry partners? Do you expect that these benefits will deliver enough ROI to justify paying industry partners to manage them?

Mr. Tarleton: This effort is but one component of a much more comprehensive effort implemented by AFSPC to advance our vision of more resilient, efficient, and effective operations to enhance mission impact and repurpose our limited number of Airmen to focus on warfighter effects.

While we will always ensure that our efforts are cost efficient, operational effectiveness and resiliency is not something that lends itself to a simple ROI calculation; however we are confident that we will achieve the necessary resilience improvements in a cost effective manner.

GSR: There is a perception amongst the space community that the Air Force has historically been reticent to do anything that involves losing or handing over control of their space resources. Does this RFP signify a shift or departure away from owning, operating and managing everything internally? If so, do you anticipate this change in attitude and direction to be reflected in other areas of the military’s space and satellite infrastructure?

Mr. Tarleton: Yes, we are moving away from owning everything.  We are evaluating more effective options for acquiring commercial bandwidth with the Pathfinder efforts. In addition, the DoD is assessing the future architecture for providing tactical communication support in the Wideband AoA.

GSR: What concerns do senior Air Force decision makers have about making this move? Do you feel that the Air Force – with its current culture – is ready and willing to take a step like this?

Mr. Tarleton: Yes. The direction to make this change is from the AFSPC Commander, representing the highest levels of support for this change to achieve greater resilience and operational effectiveness.

GSR: What do industry partners need to exhibit to prove to the Air Force that they’re capable of handling these constellations? What will the Air Force be looking for in an industry partner to make this transition effective and easier?

Mr. Tarleton: It is recognized that there are existing service providers with exemplary performance records of providing satellite telemetry, tracking, and control capabilities to numerous customers.

We want to leverage that experience and expertise for not only safely operating satellites, but also meeting DoD unique requirements for secure and responsive operations.

To read the original articles from the Defense One Space and Satellite Communications Morning Briefing, click the following links: 

• Changing space domain calls for a new approach to MILSATCOM
• Analyzing satellite alternatives for increasing mission assurance
• The evolving role of industry partners in MILSATCOM

The post Air Force looks to contractors to control constellations – a Q&A with Robert Tarleton appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

Practically all of the panelists at the Defense One event seemed to agree that the end result of this AoA – and the Pathfinder and pilot programs feeding it – will be one of the biggest changes yet; a significantly increased reliance on industry partners in MILSATCOM to help deliver mission-critical communications and capabilities, and to effectively increase mission assurance.

But that’s not the only change that could be on the horizon to the relationship between the federal government and the COMSATCOM industry. A new Request for Proposal (RFP) is expected in the very near future could usher in giant steps towards erasing the line between the military’s satellite constellations and those of the Nation’s industry partners.

Game-changing RFP on the Horizon

The Air Force is preparing to release an contract that will turn over the operations and management of MILSATCOM constellations. Although the timing for this RFP is still TBD, according to Robert Tarleton, Jr, the Director of the MILSATCOM Systems Directorate, Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Space Command, “We’re working forward on that now. I expect to put an RFP out in the very near future.”

Originally only intended to include the military’s WGS satellite constellation, there are already tweaks to the RFP happening that would involve industry partners taking control of an even larger part of the military’s satellite infrastructure. As Mr. Tarleton said, “It actually got tweaked a little bit…it [isn’t] just WGS, but also the DSCS Constellation. We’re going to get both of those run…we’ll be bringing in contractors so that they can relieve the Blue Suiters…”

And the line could get blurred even further in the near future, according to Mr. Tarleton, there will be an, “off ramp or an option to eventually move to a contractor facility.” This means that the WGS and DSCS satellite constellations would not only be conducted by industry partners, but be done in a commercial operations center.

This approach is a far cry from the way the military has traditionally approached their space and satellite infrastructure. Traditionally, the military has relied on purpose built satellite constellations that they commission, launch and manage all themselves. This was well illustrated by Dr. David Hardy, the Associate Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force (Space), when he was once quoted saying, “We in the DoD space community like to keep control over our assets.”

So what changed?

Moving towards COMSATCOM Managed Services

There are multiple reasons why the military could be moving in this direction. According to Todd Gossett, the Senior Director of Hosted Payloads at SES Space and Defense, they most likely include cost and mission focus:

“Cost savings is certainly a part of it. The military is always looking for ways to operate more effectively and efficiently for the American taxpayer. COMSATCOM providers can manage these constellations for a fraction of the cost since there are efficiencies of scale. They’re already operating satellite constellations in operation centers – this would simply add to the number of satellites they’re operating. I would also assume that there’s a challenge with mission focus. Having to operate and manage the WGS fleet keeps service men and women from higher-value work.”

Mr. Winston Beauchamp, the Director of the Principal Department of Defense Space Advisor Staff and Deputy Under Secretary (Space) of the U.S. Air Force, claims that there could be more to it than that. According to him, “It’s going to be cost savings, it’s going to be freeing up of the Blue Suiters. But it’s also going to deliver the interoperability…that will be one of the key drivers to the enterprise ground system.”

It’s clear that outsourcing the management and operations of the WGS and DSCS satellite constellations could deliver some significant benefits to the military. But it’s also a change that could prove difficult to a military that has traditionally avoided risk and sought to keep as much control as possible in all phases of the mission and organization.

When asked if he felt is the military could effectively make this transition towards industry partners managing and operating its space infrastructure, Todd Gossett said, “I certainly think it’s possible – and it’s certainly in the military’s best interest if they’re going to make the management and operations of the constellations as efficient as possible.” He continued, “There are large, financially-stable commercial space operators with experience managing large constellations, that have integrated new satellites into their command and control system and are capable of executing effective Information Assurance operations. Finding the right partner with the right experience should take much of the risk out of this transition.”

Although the timing of the RFP remains unknown, the movement towards commercially-operated DSCS and WGS satellite constellations could be inevitable. If it does come to pass, it would certainly mark a new direction for MILSATCOM, and even further blurring of the lines between the military’s space infrastructure and the commercial satellite industry.

Watch the video of the Defense One briefing below:

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