{"id":15010,"date":"2019-07-12T17:22:35","date_gmt":"2019-07-12T17:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2019\/07\/12\/can-commercial-satellites-revolutionize-nuclear-command-and-control\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T17:53:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:53:59","slug":"can-commercial-satellites-revolutionize-nuclear-command-and-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/battlefield-tech\/c2-comms-battlefield-tech\/2019\/07\/12\/can-commercial-satellites-revolutionize-nuclear-command-and-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Can commercial satellites revolutionize nuclear command and control?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The rapid growth of commercial space makes the use of non-government satellites for nuclear command and control increasingly tempting, according to one official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a speech June 26, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said that the service \u2014 which oversees both the United States\u2019 ground-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as strategic bombers capable of delivering nuclear warheads \u2014 was open to the idea of using private sector satellites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s Silicon Valley or commercial space, there\u2019s unlimited opportunities ahead right now for us in terms of how we think differently on things like nuclear command and control,\u201d said Goldfien. \u201cI, for one, am pretty excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The military has increasingly turned to the commercial sector to expand its capabilities more cost efficiently. For instance, the National Reconnaissance Office \u2014 the agency in charge of the nation\u2019s spy satellites \u2014 announced that it was looking to expand the amount of satellite imagery it buys from commercial companies. The Air Force has also expressed interest in developing a hybrid architecture for satellite communications, which would see war fighters able to switch between commercial and military satellites as they move through coverage areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\t