Space and terrestrial systems in the Defense Communications System

The authors discuss the elements of the DCS (Defense Communications System), the growth of the DCS as the 21st century is approached, and the tradeoffs that will have to be made as the complex equipment systems that will become elements of the future DCS are acquired. They address what is needed to make the DCS an affordable, interoperable, and integrated communications system. In particular, they describe the development and use of the DSCS (Defense Satellite Communication System). Although current plans are to continue the use of SHF military communications indefinitely, future DSCS satellites will have a modular bus design that incorporates either SHF, EHF, or UHF communications into a common satellite bus system. The use of EHF is to allow for better support of high-data-rate users; the modular bus concept makes possible a transition to a mixed SHF and EHF DSCS constellation, based on subscriber demand