The $45.3 Million Presidential Voice Conferencing System

That's how much is tucked away deep in the 2013 Defense Information Systems Agency research and development budget between now and 2017 for something called the National Emergency Action Decision Network.

The network provides system engineering, development and testing of the Presidential and National Voice Conferencing equipment for senior leaders, DISA said.

The PNVC system provides, according to budget documents, "a military satellite-based, world-wide, survivable, secure, and near toll-quality voice conferencing capability for the President, Secretary of Defense, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other senior national/military leaders."

This way cool system will operate over the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite system, of which only one out of five satellites are in orbit. But it's good that DISA is handling its end of the project.