Satellite Communications and the Military

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how communications satellites and computer technology, have completely revolutionized modern warfare. It looks at how strategy, deployment, and combat are all affected by the contemporary commander's access to state-of-the-art communications equipment that permits him to observe from afar the lay of the land, the supply lines and disposition of enemy troops.

Outline
Introduction
The First Satellites
The U.S. Military and New Strategies for Defense
Practical Applications

From the Paper:

"Relaying information, satellites provide real-time data in regard to "hot spots" around the world. Satellites have been instrumental in maintaining the U.S. edge in Korea, providing both surveillance capabilities and also guidance for American "smart" bombs. (Harrison, 2002, p. 126) These arrangements significantly outclass North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-Il's vast armed camp of a nation. Yet "spy satellites" hardly represent the very latest and most significant aspects of the new technology. Defense itself is being changed almost beyond recognition by the use of satellites as key elements in operations as well as planning. The new wave in military thinking focuses on, "stand-off capabilities. The situation will be developed 'out of contact,' that is, by satellite and airborne sensors rather than by the armed reconnaissance of ground elements.""

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