Assuming that U.S. forces likely will be engaged in the Iraq region for at least another decade, one of the major acquisition needs for the U.S. Army will be the procurement of battle command and other communication equipment, said Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson, deputy for acquisition, logistics and technology.

Of special concern will be satellite communication capability, Sorenson said Feb. 14 after his briefing at Aviation Week's Defense Technology & Requirements Conference in Washington.

The key to many proposed Army satellite network needs will be the U.S. Air Force's Transformational Satellite (TSAT) program - an estimated $18 billion constellation of laser-linked satellites that promises to provide the military with space-based Internet-like services.

But TSAT's first launch has been slipped another year to 2016, the Air Force recently confirmed. The service also has decided the first TSAT spacecraft will have less routing capability and fewer laser terminals (DAILY, Dec. 18, 2006).

The TSAT slippage and program changes have caught the attention of Army acquisition officials, whose programs will rely on TSAT capabilities. That could be especially true in places like Iraq, where overhead systems are especially needed, should combat drag on there for another decade "It's a concern for us," Sorenson said.

He said other systems - such as tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) - could help fill in the gaps.

During a conference briefing, Brig. Gen. Thomas Cole, deputy program executive officer for the Army's Future Combat System (FCS) - another key TSAT customer - said other networks could handle more immediate communications needs. TSAT issues, Cole said, are a concern, but not a major problem in the short term.

Sorenson reiterated that he felt the situation in Iraq and that part of the world would be an issue for quite a while. "If you read history, they're not in this for the short term," he said. "They're in it for the long term."