SAN FRANCISCO — Military satellite radio vendors are lining up to offer mobile radios to provide secure communications through the U.S. Navy’s constellation of Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites. It will take years, however, for the military services to replace or upgrade the tens of thousands of tactical satellite communications radios carried in tanks, trucks, ships, aircraft and backpacks to take advantage of the advanced capabilities advertised by MUOS program officials.

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Debra Werner is a correspondent for SpaceNews based in San Francisco. Debra earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in Journalism from Northwestern University. She is a recipient...