Suggested Considerations For Designing Survivability Into The Defense Communications System (DCS)

Adequate military communications are essential to the security of the United States. A major difference between wartime and peacetime communications systems is a wartime need for survival of enough communications to make the most effective use of our defense forces and weaponry. The author suggests that although some relatively expensive short term improvements to the survivability of the DCS are both needed and being accomplished, the required long term survivability of the DCS can be achieved most effectively and economically by diligently applying survivability engineering to a continually evolving DCS. He explains the reasons for this, and discusses the role of the design engineer in accomplishing it. If the design engineer is provided with adequate information and guidance to make survivability an important criterion in every engineering decision, the approach should be successful.