Australia is aiming for a network of military satellites
Australia is looking for a network of military space satellites. The constellation will also provide space infrastructure for the Aukus alliance's AI, drone and quantum computing projects
Australia plans to build military satellite networks to bolster its planned nuclear submarines and missile defense, the next step in the Aukus alliance that aims to put China under strategic control.
The Guardian reported this week that the Australian Ministry of Defense is aiming for a satellite constellation capable of communicating between its satellites and ground-based electronic infrastructure.
WHAT WILL AUSTRALIA'S CONSTELLATION OF MILITARY SATELLITES LOOK LIKE
The planned satellite constellation will also be capable of tracking high-velocity projectiles such as ballistic and hypersonic missiles, designed to be resistant to electronic warfare and cyberattacks and be capable of receiving and transmitting data from assets at any global location. The report notes that Australian Defense has requested information on a space-based data transport and transmission network (DTRN), designed as a flexible and space-configurable global converged network that taps into multiple security domains to disseminate defense data.
SUPPORT AUKUS SUBS AND MORE
While Australia's plan to acquire Aukus nuclear submarines has dominated recent media headlines, The Guardian notes that developing space-based capabilities to support other projects, such as artificial intelligence, drones and quantum computing, is been largely overlooked. However, Aukus could independently go ahead in planning several high-tech projects. In the context of Australia's planned nuclear submarines, The Guardian mentions that the aforementioned satellite network will enable laser link communications and potentially be capable of deploying powerful anti-submarine sensors.
CANBERRA GOAL TO SAFEGUARD STRATEGIC INDEPENDENCE
Australia's decision to build its own constellation of military satellites aims to maintain strategic autonomy, strengthen its missile defense capabilities against China and detect enemy submarines. Space-based military technologies are a crucial area of cooperation for the Aukus alliance.
In an October 2021 article for The Strategist , Malcolm Davis, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, noted that Aukus would likely focus on augmenting and improving existing space infrastructure with numerous low-cost satellites.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/laustralia-punta-a-una-rete-di-satelliti-militari/ on Fri, 24 Mar 2023 19:49:38 +0000.