Military satellite market expected to touch $9b

The global government and military communications market is expected to be worth $9 billion (Dh33.03 billion) by 2018 and the Middle East will be a key growth region for the commercial satellite industry, an expert said yesterday at the Milsatcom Middle East Conference in Abu Dhabi. Gordon McMillan, Director of Government Services for global satellite network provider Inmarsat, said that the increasing adoption of commercial satellite communication systems by government and military users, coupled with exponential demand for greater bandwidth, presents excellent opportunities for commercial satellite providers. Greater use "As military budgets come under increasing pressure, the commercial satellite industry fulfils an increasingly greater proportion of the communications needs of government and military customers," McMillan said. Article continues below The two-day conference, organised by Streamline Marketing Group, was developed specifically to meet the satellite communications needs of the Middle East military, government and security agencies. "In the future, fewer dedicated military satellite communications systems will be launched, and military forces will need to augment military systems with greater use of commercial satellite communications networks," McMillan said. Flexibility "Commercial satellite communication systems that are designed with military and government users in mind will provide these users with a greater degree of flexibility in how they fulfil their communications requirements, for land, sea and air operations." He pointed out that the need for access to greater amounts of information in all forms, including images, live motion video, and voice on large platforms, whether at sea, on land or in the air is stretching the capacity and flexibility of military and commercial systems. "The fluid and asymmetric environments encountered by today's security forces will become more complex and challenging, both politically, and operationally, placing an even greater emphasis on the need for real-time, accurate information to support decision making," McMillan said.