Can You Tell the Difference?

At a House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee hearing, Air Force Undersecretary Ronald Sega had to defend the developing Space Radar program from technological attack. Rep. John Spratt (D-S.C.) criticized the program, asking how it could still reside in the budget given “the tradeoffs we’re having to make elsewhere.” He claimed that it can’t be used easily in urban areas or in heavily foliaged areas, adding that “you may not be able to tell the difference between a garbage truck and a tank.” Sega offered to discuss details of the space radar capability in a closed forum, but he did say that the Pentagon has been building and using radars for decades. “We’ve made a great deal of progress in terms of our knowledge and use of radar,” said Sega. He added that the Joint Staff and the combatant commanders are working through now “what would constitute a block one space radar.”