Air Force PE 61102F, defense research sciences, provides support to the Sacramento Peak Observatory, one of the world's premier solar observatories with 40 percent of U.S. solar telescopes. Solar research is critical to the Defense Department because of the great impact of solar events on defense space assets. The committee recommends that of the funds authorized for PE 61102F, $1.4 million be authorized to continue Air Force support for Sacramento Peak at the fiscal year 1993 level.

Thermionic conversion technology

For the past several years, select U.S. high technology and aerospace companies, as well as several government agencies such as NASA, DOD, and DOE, have been working on programs seeking to develop space power systems for defense and space application. The majority of development to date has focused on two similar technologies, thermionics and thermoelectrics, both of which can convert heat into usable electronic energy with no moving parts.

While substantial progress has been made on these promising programs, the fiscal year 1994 budget request effectively elimi

nated funding for the U.S. thermionic and thermoelectric development effort.

The committee believes the development of these space power programs has great potential for future military systems and recommends that $10.0 million be added to the Air Force rocket propulsion and astronautics technology PE 0602302F.

Space investment strategy

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 required the Secretary of Defense to submit a space investment strategy to Congress aimed at reducing costs and increasing efficiencies. This report was due on April 15, 1993, but has been indefinitely delayed due to the ongoing Bottom Up Review of major defense programs. The committee believes that Congress cannot wait until the Secretary's report and next year's budget request are submitted to begin to reduce the cost of the DOD space program. The DOD budget continues to decline steeply, particularly in the overall investment accounts (R&D and procurement), while the space budget request remains constant or increases. The share of scarce investment funds now going to space stands at about 15 percent and will continue to grow under current plans.

Accordingly, the committee recommends the following actions for fiscal year 1994:

(1) Restructuring DoD missile early warning and defense surveillance programs, with a savings of $350.0 million in fiscal year 1994 and billions in later years;

(2) Deferring the launch of a defense satellite communications system (DSCS) program satellite in light of the reasonably good health of the current on-orbit satellites, which will prolong the life of the current inventory and extend the date when investment in a replacement capability is required;

(3) Deferring the launch of a defense meteorological satellite system (DMSP) satellite, mandating that DOD drop from a two-satellite constellation to a one-satellite system, and encouraging a merger between DOD and Department of Commerce weather satellite systems; these actions will save billions of dollars over the life of the program;

(4) Requiring a space launch roadmap that would focus limited investment funds for improving space launch capabilities on either new development or improvements to existing launch systems, and requiring a plan to shrink excess in the space launch industrial base;

(5) Mandating a single standard for extremely high-frequency communications waveforms and commonality of equipment wherever possible to eliminate needless proliferation;

(6) Directing DOD to investigate the potential use of foreign space launch vehicles in light of the high cost of U.S. launch systems and the Defense Department's likely inability to fund new launch system development; and,

(7) Providing funds to the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Public Administration to investigate civil and/or commercial funding and management of the global positioning system.

Together, these actions would reduce fiscal year 1994 space expenditures by approximately $500 million and would provide the basis for significant future savings with minimum impact on capabilities. In addition, substantial reductions are recommended elsewhere in this report to the amounts requested for classified space activities. The committee believes that DOD will be able to afford new space-based capabilities in the future only if the cost of existing programs are reduced. The committee hopes that the space investment strategy of the Secretary of Defense will provide additional cost reduction initiatives as well as a coherent long-term plan for the DOD investment in space systems.

Extremely high-frequency communications

The statement of managers accompanying the conference report on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993 (H. Rept. 102-966) expressed concern that the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (now the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization or BMDO) planned to develop its own unique extremely high-frequency (EHF) communications waveform. The Act directed DOD to inform the committee promptly of the results of studies by the Office of the Secretary of Defense of the justification for these plans. The Congress has received no response to this direction. Moreover, BMDO continues to plan to develop a unique EHF waveform as well as multiple unique receivers, transmitters, and terminals for missile defense applications.

The committee concludes that budget pressures and the necessity for interoperability preclude proliferation of EHF waveforms and transmit and receive equipment. Accordingly, the Committee recommends a provision that would require DOD to adopt a single EHF medium data rate waveform as standard.

All DOD programs planning to use the 44/21 Gigahertz frequency band for medium data rate (MDR) communications will use a common set of waveforms defined in a single standards document. Programs covered specifically include satellite communications systems, ballistic missile defense systems, and the follow-on early warning satellite system. If this standard is not developed in time for deployment on the first or second Milstar MDR satellites, the standard shall be implemented to ensure backward compatibility with existing satellites and terminals.

All programs utilizing the frequencies and data rates described above shall pursue joint equipment development, for space and ground applications, whenever the life-cycle cost of joint equipment is less than that for separate developments. The burden of proof for unique equipment development shall be on the program offices, which must justify their positions formally to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence, and the congressional defense committees. These formal justifications shall include cost estimates by the program office and contractors.

The budget request contained $55.8 million for research and development of Navy satellite communications. The committee recommends a reduction of $43.0 million to the request due to the availability of fiscal year 1993 Other Procurement, Navy funds ap

propriated for shipboard tactical communications and SATCOM ship terminals.

Advanced tactical air reconnaissance system

The budget request contained funds in various accounts to continue the development of the follow on tactical reconnaissance system (FOTRS). The FOTRS program consists of the aircraft component-the advanced tactical air reconnaissance system (ATARS)— and the ground component-the joint service image processing system (JSIPS).

The Defense Department has terminated the ATARS portion of the program. Under the terms of the termination, the Air Force has little more than boxes of unassembled sub-components to show for the program. Clearly, the Department must start over to develop a sensible program. Consequently, the committee recommends no authorization for the ATARS program in fiscal year 1994 and eliminates the funds from fiscal year 1993 that remain unexpended.

The committee is aware, however, that the importance of a timely upgrade of tactical reconnaissance has not been lost on the Marine Corps, which has faithfully funded and executed its portion of FOTRS development. Inasmuch as it appears to the committee that the Marine Corps has been attempting to lead the Department's tactical airborne reconnaissance effort, the committee recommends that the $53.9 million in unobligated fiscal year 1992 ATARS procurement funding be made available to the Marine Corps for the purpose of proceeding with an ATARS alternative.

The committee is aware of alternative systems awaiting integration by the Marine Corps at the Naval Air Warfare Center, Patuxent River, Maryland. The Marine Corps has suspended incorporation of these systems, pending a final determination of the ATARS program's health. Therefore, the committee expects the Marine Corps to utilize the unobligated fiscal year 1992 funding for the purpose of acquiring off-the-shelf, non-developmental, readily available subsystems supporting this integration, or another near-term ATARS alternative that is JSIPS compatible; select an alternative; and present a road-map for its implementation to the congressional defense committees prior to submission of the fiscal year 1995 budget request.

Finally, the committee directs the Secretary of Defense to assign full responsibility for development and fielding of a tactical air reconnaissance capability, in lieu of ATARS, to the Marine Corps. Joint primary aircraft training system [JPATS]

The budget request included $41.6 to procure test aircraft for a new pilot training system that will be utilized by both the Navy and Air Force, the joint primary aircraft training system (JPATS). During the past year, the Defense Department has changed its policies on allowing women to serve in military specialties that would put them into combat. In the future, women pilots are likely to function in any aircraft system.

The committee was surprised to learn that the original requirements for the JPATS aircraft cockpit and ejection seat would exclude nearly half of all potential female pilot candidates. The Defense Department indicated that it would adopt a policy that the

JPATS cockpit and ejection seat would be modified so that it would accommodate 80 percent of female pilot candidates, while still accommodating 95 percent of male pilot candidates.

The committee sees no compelling reason to exclude 15 percent of the female population of potential pilot candidates just because a redesign of the ejection system will introduce a modest delay in the JPATS program. The committee recommends a provision that would prohibit procurement of JPATS aircraft until the Secretary of Defense certifies that the aircraft can accommodate 95 percent of both male and female pilot candidates.

The committee has consistently and strongly supported the need for the JPATS program and continues to do so. The committee understands, however, that $40.0 million cannot be obligated in fiscal year 1994 and reduces the requested authorization by that level. Computer-assisted education and training

Last year, the committee initiated a computer-assisted education and training program. The committee requested the Department of Defense to coordinate with the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense Dependents School system, the Department of Education, and the National Guard to develop a cooperative program using the expertise of these organizations. The committee is disappointed that little progress has been made toward this objective.

The committee again urges the DOD to use its leadership and experience in this important field of research to develop a program that will bring existing computer technology to bear on the education and training objectives of the Department and the nation.

In order to ensure that proper top level management attention is brought to bear on this important program, the committee recommends that the management of this project be moved from the Office of the Director, Defense Research and Engineering to the Air Force. The committee also encourages the Air Force to work closely with the Defense Modeling and Simulation Office as it structures its new program. The committee accordingly recommends that $15.0 million be authorized for fiscal year 1994 in PE 64227F. The committee further recommends an additional authorization of $2.0 million to PE 62601F to fund the Air Force outreach program to install computer-assisted mathematics programs in high schools. Space launch programs

The budget request contained several tens of millions for ongoing improvements to existing space launch vehicles and infrastructure; $53.9 million to initiate a next-generation, relatively moderate-risk launch vehicle; and $43.3 million for development of technology for a high-risk, far-term national aerospace plane (NASP). The funding level requested for fiscal year 1994 and the amounts likely to be available in future years for each of these efforts are insufficient to achieve an affordable, reliable, and responsive space launch capability in any timeframe. Instead of spreading meager resources unproductively across existing, next-generation, and far-term programs, DOD should concentrate resources on doing at least one program right.