우주기반 표적획득은 NRO가 항상 하던 일

[위종민]

NRO 부국장이 10월 17일 미첼 연구소가 개최한 모임에서 NRO는 우주기반 표적획득과 전달은 NRO가 항상 하던 일이었고, 그 경험을 활용해 새로운 도전에 대처하는 중이라고 발언했네요. 

E-8 조인트스타를 대체할 GMTI 위성 관할에 대한 논쟁이 있는 모양이고, NRO가 "우리가 가장 경험이 많다구요!"라고 어필하는 것 같습니다. 

Space-Based Targeting Challenges Nothing New for NRO (airandspaceforces.com)

NROL-107 Launch. Courtesy of NRO

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Space-Based Targeting Challenges Nothing New for NRO, Deputy Director Says

Oct. 17, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

The scale and pace of providing intelligence to military forces is changing, but the deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office said Oct. 17 that the agency is drawing on decades of experience to meet the challenge.

Speaking at an event hosted by the Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies, Troy Meink frequently cited the NRO’s history when describing how the intelligence organization is tackling new challenges. 

Established in 1960 to manage Air Force, Navy, and CIA reconnaissance efforts, the NRO’s very existence remained classified until 1992. Even after that, many of its activities remained shrouded in mystery, but in recent years, the agency has taken a more public role in the Pentagon’s growing space enterprise. 

Perhaps the NRO’s most high-profile effort is teaming up with the Space Force to provide ground moving target indication (GMTI) and replace legacy Air Force platforms with new satellites. Exactly who will control the satellites and how fast the intelligence community can provide data to service members is still up for debate, but Meink argued the NRO is uniquely positioned to support the mission. 

“We’ve been looking at operational support, looking for moving targets, really, almost since the first Gulf War,” Meink said. “ … This is just an extension of, to be honest, what we’ve been doing for many years. And we’re working closely with, obviously, [Air Force Secretary Frank] Kendall, [Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance] Saltzman, and the entire Space Force staff to deliver that capability.” 

Specifically addressing concerns about whether the NRO can provide targeting information at tactically relevant speeds, Meink said the agency has experience moving fast. 

“I think it’s important to note that many of the timelines we’re talking about today, the NRO was already supporting. This is a new phenomenology, this is new capability, but it’s not new mission for the NRO,” he said. “The timelines that we’re talking about here is not something the NRO has not been worrying about for many decades.” 

Particularly since being declassified, Meink added, the NRO has worked on tighter timelines. 

“The good thing is, we’re not starting from scratch. The NRO’s been around for a long time. We’re a highly classified organization. The last 30 years, it’s been more open, and that’s come with a lot more direct support for those missions that require that timeline,” he said. 

Still, Meink acknowledged that the GMTI mission his agency is working on with the Space Force will require speed and scale on a whole new level, to encompass everything from how the new satellites are tasked, how the data is processed and fused with other sources, and how to manage the sheer volume of information coming in. 

To address some of those issues, the NRO has invested in cyber and artificial intelligence, increasing its computing power and hiring data scientists to identify what levels of AI it will need at different points in the process. Commercial industry will also play a role. 

“A big part of us is now we don’t have to develop [AI technologies] from scratch. In many cases, we’re just adapting them to our environment,” Meink said. 

Another major challenge is just how rapidly the NRO needs to adapt to keep up with the state of the world. 

“The rate of change, given the threats we face, how fast that threat is evolving, how fast the demands for capability that not only the NRO but the entire space industry is seeing, requires a rate of change that’s really faster than maybe almost since the beginning of the NRO,” Meink said. 

Many of these challenges are not unique to the GMTI mission. Meink cited similar lessons from another joint NRO-Space Force venture, SILENTBARKER, a new space situational awareness satellite that launched in September 2023. 

“You’re integrating a new capability into a very large enterprise. How does that data flow to everybody who needs it, on timelines? … It’s one of those things, as you field new capability, how do you incorporate that into a very large, diverse ground infrastructure? That’s probably been some of the biggest lessons learned there.” 

[백선호]

요 ConOps 그림의 위성이네요.

https://cafe.daum.net/NTDS/515G/4039

[위종민]

저기서 노드 역할을 어차피 하늘에 오래 떠 있어야 하는 공중급유기들이 맡을 모양이네요.

[Minowski(김유철)]

점점 기술발전, 경쟁심화, 조직비대화 등으로 나와바리의 벽이 무너지고 있고 거기다 예산은 한정되니 부서간의 신경전 점점 가열되는 것이... 주어만 바꾸면 사기업 이야기가 되겠습니다...

[위종민]

그 동안은 위성 띄우고 관리하고 사진 찍은 거 분석하는 게 주임무였을 텐데 GMTI 위성을 전장에서 직접 운용하는 건 또 영역이 다른거 아닌가 싶긴 한데.. 어쨌든 생존하려면 업역을 넓혀야 ㅋㅋ