USN Space Needs, FIA, SBR

As rumored and hinted previously, FIA Radar seems to have been dumped
in favor of SBR. Which leaves me still wondering how long it's going
to be before the US' next radarspysat is launched.

I am a little puzzled by the statement that FIA will provide a
resolution improvement. Persistence was expected.



The Navy's Needs in Space for Providing Future
Capabilities

Committee on the Navy's Needs in Space for
Providing Future Capabilites, National Research
Council

ISBN: 0-309-55118-8, 266 pages, 6 x 9, (2005)

This free PDF was downloaded from:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11299.html

[muchos snippos]


Future Space-Based Intelligence, Surveillance,
and Reconnaissance Systems

Historically, NSS ISR systems have been managed by
the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and have
significantly improved the effectiveness of naval
missions. The Navy has been a major participant in
these NRO programs to ensure that naval interests
are served. While these past and current NSS ISR
systems and augmentations have proven their value,
NSS systems currently in the development and/or
planning stage by the NRO and the Air Force hold
promise of even more improvements in naval
capability. Two systems in particular are noteworthy
in this regard:

=B7 The Future Imagery Architecture (FIA) being
developed by the NRO, and

=B7 The proposed Space Based Radar (SBR) being
planned by the Air Force.

FIA is being planned to replace the NRO's
existing series of national optical and infrared
imaging satellites. While the details of the
program are largely classified, the FIA initiative
will represent a significant improvement to the
nation's space-based imagery systems, in terms
of both resolution and persistence.

The Navy needs to remain engaged in this initiative
to ensure that its maritime imagery needs will be
met by FIA.

SBR represents a plan to field a space-based radar
to enable near-continuous monitoring (through either
radar imagery or ground moving target indication
(GMTI)) of the majority of Earth's surface-a critical
supporting capability to enable the Navy to provide
maritime domain awareness consistent with its role
in homeland defense. SBR is such a major ISR
initiative that the United States is unlikely to
support an alternative space-based radar initiative
in the next several decades.