Pentagon Paying China — Yes, China — To Carry Data -- Danger Room
The Pentagon is so starved for bandwidth that it’s paying a Chinese satellite firm to help it communicate and share data.
U.S. troops operating on the African continent are now using the recently-launched Apstar-7 satellite to keep in touch and share information. And the $10 million, one-year deal lease — publicly unveiled late last week during an ordinarily-sleepy Capitol Hill subcommittee hearing — has put American politicians and policy-makers in bit of a bind. Over the last several years, the U.S. government has publicly and loudly expressed its concern that too much sensitive American data passes through Chinese electronics — and that those electronics could be sieves for Beijing’s intelligence services. But the Pentagon says it has no other choice than to use the Chinese satellite. The need for bandwidth is that great, and no other satellite firm provides the continent-wide coverage that the military requires.
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More News On The Pentagon Leasing A Chinese Satellite For Communications
Pentagon using China satellite for US-Africa Command -- Stars and Stripes/Bloomberg New
Pentagon questioned on use of Chinese satellite -- South China Morning Post
Pentagon leaning on Chinese satellite for Africa Command communications -- RT
Pentagon Paying Chinese for Satellite Bandwidth -- Washington Free Beacon
Pentagon’s Use Of China Satellite For Communication In Africa Triggers National Debate -- Digital Times
US Military Leases Chinese Satellite Capacity to Provide Bandwidth for Africa Command -- Satellite Today
Comment #1: This was unthinkable 20 years ago .... but today .... everyone just shrugs their shoulders.
Comment #2: The above video of the launch of the Chinese satellite in question is super-cool to watch.