It’s no secret that many countries are actively seeking to beef up their sovereign MILSAT resources, particularly in MILSATCOM, as well as other strategic space capabilities. The Australian Defence Force, for example, recently selected Lockheed Martin as the preferred bidder for its planned JP9102 Australian Defence Satellite Communications System. JP9102’s goal is to build out Australia’s domestic MILSATCOM resources while also advancing its national military and space industry capabilities. With an expected cost of approximately $4 billion AUD ($2.86 billion USD), it figures to be the country’s largest ever space contract.

Another national effort was announced in February when Babcock International was selected for the U.K.’s Skynet Service Delivery Wrap program, part of a wider £6 billion ($7.46 billion USD) project aimed at updating British satellite communication capabilities for U.K. military and government users.

Programs like these are about creating and bolstering local capabilities. Implicit in achieving their goal is the additional need to cooperate with global allies. We frequently hear about the policy challenges to space-based defense cooperation, such as how data is classified and exchanged between governments. But if the network systems can’t pass that data reliably, quickly, accurately, securely, in a common format and following common standards, they’ll sub-optimize at best, regardless of how data is classified.

The need to interoperate seamlessly goes beyond agencies cooperating on a common defense mission. Explicit in most programs, like JP9102 and Skynet, is the conjoined goal of spurring each country’s domestic space-based economy. That can mean everything from governments tapping commercial operators for satellite services to startups developing products for global space markets. Efforts that favor open industry standards over proprietary systems are the ones that will be far more likely to succeed across all goals.

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