Lowering the High Ground: Using Near-Space Vehicles for Persistent C3ISR

Abstract

Department of Defense (DOD), military service, and industry leaders have focused on increasing command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C3ISR) persistence. As of today, the air and space platforms do not provide persistent C3ISR. Platforms exploiting near space will be part of an integrated solution to increase persistent C3ISR. This paper covers the capabilities and limitations of current C3ISR platforms supporting battlespace awareness. After identifying the deficiencies, the essay then explores the various platform and payload combinations that can reach the near space altitudes of 20 to 150 kilometers (km). Finally, the paper concludes with a comparison of capabilities and concepts of operations (CONOPS) for several near-space vehicle (NSV) constellations.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA463564

Entities

People

  • Andrew J. Knoedler

Organizations

  • Air War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerostats
  • Aircraft Equipment
  • Aircraft Industry
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Airships
  • Balloons
  • Ground Control Stations
  • Radar
  • Signals Intelligence
  • Situational Awareness
  • Spacecraft
  • Surveillance
  • Synthetic Aperture Radar
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Geospatial Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence Analytics
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3
  • Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control
  • Space
  • Space - Satellites