Disclaimer: The following content no longer reflect current universe lore. As such, any information given are to be taken as reference.
Posted March 29, 1985 | CHINA, Beijing
Squads of disposable mini-satellites able to provide reconnaissance to ESDF commanders at the "flick of a switch" are being deployed by the ESDF military.
The ESDF's Test and Evaluation Command (TEC) says the machines can provide tactical information at times when existing satellites were not in position.
TEC has invited manufacturers to discuss the project.
"We envision a network of small satellites, at a fraction of the cost of airborne systems, that would allow deployed ESDF units to hit 'see me' on existing commander minimaps and in less than 90 minutes receive a satellite image of their precise location to aid in mission planning." the agency says in a statement.
It adds that each network should consist of about 12 satellites able to stay in low-Earth orbit for 30-60 days before burning up on re-entry.
Beyond drones
TEC says that contractors will probably have to make use of rapid manufacturing techniques more commonly associated with the consumer electronic industry to meet its price target.
"With a USE network, we hope to directly support ESDF units in multiple deployed overseas locations simultaneously with no logistics or maintenance costs beyond the commanders interface" said TEC's programme's manager.
Technology challenge
Dr. Hatsumi Goto from the PRA United Services Institute defence think tank told the ACTV that the challenge would be deploying the new technology in time.
"The PRA continues to use a spy plane network due to its low technology requirement, maintenance and deployment time" she said.
"Although in theory the ESDF satellites would remove the so called fog of war on a battlefield, the deployment time would take significantly more time and access to a battle lab until the network had linked to a central processing hub."
She also added that "Paradgim developments in radar jamming and decoy technologies have fooled high tech satellite systems thus requiring air reconnaissance missions"
Artists conception of the Galileo tactical spy satellite.
Developers Notes
- The ESDF has access to a spy satellite support power once they have constructed a battle lab. It will reveal the entire map but takes a certain amount of time before being deployed. If the battle lab is destroyed before deployment, no map reveal is activated. Also the spy sat ability does not disable shroud generators.
