The value of space-based intelligence

By Frank Gardner
Security correspondent, BBC News

US forces have come to rely very heavily on space-based GPS

The commander of US Strategic Command, Gen Kevin Chilton, has said that US space-based intelligence is playing an "invaluable" role in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The four-star general said satellite data was allowing coalition commanders on the ground to counter Taleban infiltration with the help of unmanned aerial drones.

But in a rare interview, he told the BBC his staff was having to cope with foreign "intrusions" into sensitive computer data - in other words, cyber warfare.

Gen Chilton said US forces had come to rely very heavily on space-based global positioning systems (GPS), precision navigation and communication, including the ability to communicate over the horizon in a country like Afghanistan without an established communications network in place.

He said it was invaluable to US and Nato operations to be able to control drones remotely, and to gather and disseminate the information collected to other locations for analysis so that the information can be put to use on the ground.

New vulnerabilities

The technology, said the general, was making a dramatic difference.

We can't imagine not having our computers operating... in our societies today Gen Kevin Chilton Commander, US Strategic Command

In Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2001, he said, the US was able to use GPS-guided munitions to enable the Northern Alliance to break out of a position they had been bottled up in for years and advance on horseback before using precision weapons to defeat the Taleban.

He said those same types of technologies applied today in trying to counter Taleban infiltration back into Afghanistan.

I put it to him, though, that this heavy reliance on technology surely made US forces vulnerable to both malfunction and interception.

He conceded this was a danger which his staff were alert to.

"We can't imagine not having our computers operating whether it be in a military operation or a commercial operation in our societies today," he said.

"So those dependencies make you look for vulnerabilities because you can anticipate that an adversary will look for vulnerabilities in potential conflict in future.

"That's one of our charters for Strategic Command, is to try to identify those vulnerabilities and work to mitigate them."

Iran concerns

During the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Saddam Hussein's forces had tried to jam US GPS signals, Gen Chilton said.

Gen Chilton said spies - and bored teenagers - could pose a threat

Now, in 2008, operators under his command had seen "intrusions" into Pentagon computer systems which varied from nuisance - possibly caused by a bored 15-year-old - to something more sophisticated, such as espionage by a foreign country.

"This is troubling," he said.

"It is not unexpected but this is something that we're just now beginning to realise, this vulnerability, and take appropriate actions against it."

Gen Chilton said he was very concerned about two things in Iran - its long-range missile programme and its nuclear programme.

He drew a parallel with North Korea's activities in both these areas.

He said there was now a need to bring the US defence system "well in advance of what looks like advancing missile technology and nuclear research for weapons in Iran".

Iran denies that it has any ambitions to develop nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear programme is for power generation only.