WASHINGTON — Commercial satellite operators for years have urged the Department of Defense to rely less on government-owned satellites and more on their own services. While advocacy efforts haven’t resulted in a massive shift yet, a proposed increase in the 2025 budget allocation for commercial satellite communications integration offers a glimmer of hope, said a senior industry executive.
The Pentagon’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 includes a $134 million line item for “commercial satcom integration” — an increase from $71 million in the 2024 budget. While the amount is still dwarfed by the $1.2 billion the Space Force has for military satellite programs, the industry views it as a positive sign, Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, senior vice president for government strategy and policy at Viasat, told SpaceNews.
Viasat, a global communications firm, sells satcom services to the U.S. government and its market share increased last year after acquiring rival satcom operator Inmarsat.
“We’re hopeful this means DoD is getting more serious about leveraging commercial capabilities,” she said. But noted that the devil will be in the details in terms of how this integration funding is used.
What satellite companies hope is that the funding is used to establish a dedicated working capital fund under the Space Force’s Commercial Space Office. A working capital fund is essentially a pot of money set aside for the operational needs of military satcom users. That would really streamline the ability for combatant commands and others to take advantage of commercial services, Cowen-Hirsch said.
The commercial satcom integration fund was only established a few years ago, and it started out with about $25 million. The 2025 request for $134 million “certainly reflects national policy and defense strategy,” which calls for DoD to leverage commercial space services, she added.
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