Implementation of SDI Resources for MILSATCOM User Support

A study effort was recently undertaken which sought to investigate means by which MILSATCOM users could benefit from the use of SDI resources. The study developed several operational concepts to achieve this goal. The concepts were developed around a generic SDI Architecture framework and were tailored to address MILSATCOM deficiencies in a timeframe corresponding to the SDI system deployment. This paper examines the performance, feasibility, and deployment considerations of these concepts. Three concepts are developed and studied: (1) use of SDI platforms as hosts for MILSATCOM packages, (2) use by MILSATCOM of SDI inband communications capacity, (3) a hybrid combination of the previous two. Several alternative implementations of these concepts are investigated and assessed according to their effectiveness in providing capabilities to satisfy projected far-term (mid/late-1990s) MILSATCOM deficiencies. Deployment considerations are examined and capabilities resulting from these configurations are estimated.