Air Force prepared to defend space-based radar in 2006 budget.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: Upfront

Supporters of the Pentagon's efforts to deploy a network of surveillance satellites are working to mend fences with critics on Capitol Hill and to restore the credibility of the project after it took a beating in last year's budget.

"We are trying to regroup a bit," said Air Force Undersecretary Peter Toots, who oversees the service's entire portfolio of space programs.

A constellation of space-based radars able to track moving targets and provide maps and imagery would be a useful capability for U.S. military forces and for the intelligence community, Teets argues, although he concedes that the Defense Department has done poorly so far articulating the merits of the program.

Teets said he was disappointed that the Pentagon's budget request of $328 million for the space-based radar ill fiscal year 2005 was slashed to $75 million.

"We were criticized by Congress for trying to advance technology too fast," Teets said in an interview.

The Defense Department has programmed about $4 billion for the program from fiscal years 2005 to 2009, with the intent to launch the first satellite by 2012.

Those plans could see significant changes, pending the outcome of an ongoing review of space-based radar requirements and strategy, and the possible revision of Air Force concepts for how to operate intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.

Teets convened a so-called "tiger team" of military and civilian experts to assess the state of the technology and gauge the level of support for the program within each military service and U.S. intelligence agencies.

The team met in early September and was given a November deadline to turn in final recommendations that could lead to changes in the fiscal year 2006 budget request, which will be sent to Congress in January.

"I'll hear what they learned," Teets said. Some time in November, "we'll put our thinking together on how to properly formulate a plan for the 2006 budget. We'll build a revised plan that I think makes good sense."

Leading the tiger team is retired Air Force Lt. Gen. John Campbell, who, as a former advisor to CIA Director George Tenet, "brings unique credentials," said Teets.

Teets asked the team to ponder various scenarios and possible alternatives to the current space-based radar concept. Among them would be deploying radars in "near-space" orbits, which range from 65,000 to 300,000 feet above the earth. The concept the Air Force proposed in last year's budget was a constellation of nine...