United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office National Security and International Affairs Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1998-11-10 monographic deposited born digital 29 p. GA 1.13:NSIAD-99-2 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-99-2 P0b002ee1803915b2 f:ns99002 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-99-2 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-99-2 NSIAD-99-2 Communication satellites Military satellites ADP procurement Navigation aids Operational testing Ballistic missiles Military communication Defense capabilities Confidential communication National defense operations MILSTAR Letter Report NSIAD Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) multiservice Milstar system, focusing on the: (1) Milstar system's capabilities to support strategic and tactical missions; and (2) extent to which DOD has provided assurance of continuing comparable satellite communications among the users after the Milstar satellites under development are launched.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) there are several limitations associated with the Milstar system's capabilities to support strategic missions; (2) although the Milstar I system has been deployed for over 2 years, a May 1998 draft operational test report revealed that system support could be limited in some critical strategic mission areas; (3) operational testing showed that military commanders could not communicate by voice in a timely and intelligible manner, when using the low data rate capabilities; (4) this limitation was attributable to inherent characteristics of Milstar's low data rate technology and associated peripheral equipment; (5) operational testing of the missile warning teletype network was planned, but not performed, to verify that accurate and timely ballistic missile alert messages could be transmitted from North American Aerospace Defense Command to other strategic command centers; (6) a subsequent Air Force test of this teletype network determined that a required redundancy check for data accuracy could not be performed without software modifications; (7) operational testing revealed a Milstar system endurance issue, associated with the nuclear bomber force, that must be resolved because of the requirement for continuous communication capabilities if the bomber force needed to be recalled or redirected; (8) testing showed that the configuration of peripheral equipment and its accompanying software has not been effectively controlled or fully certified to ensure communications interoperability with the Milstar system; (9) DOD has identified corrective actions for the limitations in these four areas; (10) final resolutions are dependent on approval of requirements, verification through testing, a certification process, or obtaining necessary funds; (11) DOD has not provided assurance that the continuity of protected medium data rate satellite communication capabilities will be maintained for tactical forces after the four Milstar II satellites are launched; (12) the satellite constellation's communication capabilities are predicted to degrade below a minimally acceptable level in fiscal year (FY) 2003, before the advanced satellite system is expected to be available in FY 2006; (13) the deployment of Milstar II tactical terminals is expected to be completed by 2003, and tactical forces will have become dependent on the Milstar II system; (14) this situation could result in users not having the communications capacity they require to execute their missions; and (15) DOD has not fully assessed the associated operational risks to tactical forces. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-99-2/html/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-99-2.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-99-2/pdf/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-99-2.pdf GAO/NSIAD-99-2 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-99-2 Letter Report GAO/NSIAD-99-2; Military Satellite Communications: Concerns With Milstar's Support to Strategic and Tactical Forces; Communication satellites Military satellites ADP procurement Navigation aids Operational testing Ballistic missiles Military communication Defense capabilities Confidential communication National defense operations MILSTAR H. Rept. 105-591