House appropriators urge Navy, Air Force to evaluate SATCOM acquisition

The House Appropriations Committee is recommending the Navy and Air Force assess shifting the acquisition authority of "narrowband satellite communications" into the Air Force's purview as the services work toward a cohesive approach for purchasing satellite systems.

According to the report accompanying the panel's draft of the fiscal year 2020 defense spending bill, the three service secretaries were recently directed to create "an integrated architecture and acquisition strategy for wideband and narrowband communications."

"The Committee encourages the Secretaries of the Navy and the Air Force to consider whether transferring responsibility for future narrowband satellite communications systems from the Navy to the Air Force will facilitate the development and implementation of an integrated communications architecture," the report reads.

The report states that while the Navy has typically purchased narrowband systems, the Air Force procures "wideband and strategic satellite communications."