On May 9, 2012, DARPA released its latest Broad Agency Announcement (DARPA-BAA-12-35) for a program called, "SeeMe," which is an acronym for Space Enabled Effects for Military Engagements. Bidders will be competing for a total of roughly $45M to be distributed via multiple awards.

The goal of this program is to provide needed on-demand imagery directly to the warfighter in the field from a very-low-cost satellite constellation in a timely manner. Such a program will fill current gaps in critical information prior to, during and after military engagements.

There are obvious significant advantages in closing this information gap with persistent coverage and on-demand delivery in terms of driving up mission success probability and reducing personnel risk.

If successful, the SeeMe program will provide reliable and persistent information by using small, short-lived, very-low-cost satellites at very low altitudes, integrated into existing communications systems and handheld platforms.

The challenge here is to provide full constellation coverage over a selected latitude band at a cost that is only a fraction of current airborne costs. This roughly translates into a satellite unit cost of no more than $500,000, exclusive of launch and ground operations.

Today, the warfighter in the field is unable to obtain on-demand satellite imagery in a timely manner due to unavailability of satellite over-flight opportunities, lack of information distribution channels, prioritization conflicts, and/or classification restrictions. The BAA points out: "At the same time, insurgents that operate against US warfighters worldwide have the ability to utilize commercial imagery services to obtain information, effectively providing them with an asymmetric advantage."

At first glance this program really sounds like a good idea. But, there is one glaring question that immediately comes to mind. It is unclear why we allow insurgents to have an asymmetric advantage by using commercial imagery services. US warfighters should at least have the same access to commercial services, thus leveling the information battlefield.

On the other hand, SeeMe should improve on this by providing on-demand relevant tactical information, higher levels of pre-engagement information and improved reliability in remote and beyond-line-of-sight conditions. With higher levels of persistence the US warfighter should realize a significant advantage over insurgents.