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1 1 (December 08, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdczg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: %Fnw C~l rES .rh$e December 8, 2020 Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3) Modernization The U.S. military is currently recapitalizing its nuclear arsenal; one effort in this regard is the replacement of many of the systems that make up its nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) architecture. According to the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), the NC3 system performs five crucial functions: detection, warning, and attack characterization; adaptive nuclear planning; decision- making conferencing; receiving Presidential orders; and enabling the management and direction of forces. NC3 relies on a number of systems that enable the national command authority the chain of command running from the President through the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff to U.S. Strategic Command to issue orders to strategic forces. These systems must operate at all times to transmit orders from the President and communicate with bombers in the air, ballistic submarines underwater, and intercontinental ballistic missiles dispersed throughout the United States. (For a more detailed discussion, see CRS In Focus IF10521, Defense Primer: Command and Control of Nuclear Forces, by Amy F. Woolf.) The Department of Defense (DOD) has identified a number of expanding threats that might challenge current NC3 systems and thus create a need to procure new systems. The NPR states that China and Russia have developed capabilities that could potentially threaten space-based systems; in addition, the introduction of modern information technologies poses potential cyber vulnerability, which has created new challenges and potential vulnerabilities for the NC3 system. Moreover, many NC3 systems entered service in the 1970s, so some, like the Strategic Automated Command and Control System, are reaching the end of their life or are facing parts obsolescence. This makes maintenance either impractical or extremely expensive. According to some experts, the NC3 architecture is composed of up to 160 individual systems; the following discussion highlights select NC3 systems that the Pentagon might consider replacing in the near term. arn Radars DOD employs a number of long-range early warning radars to detect potential incoming missiles. One example of these radars is the Precision Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased Array Warning System (PAVE PAWS), located in Massachusetts (see Figure 1), California, and Alaska. These radars are designed to detect potential submarine- launched ballistic missiles. The Air Force plans to replace PAVE PAWS radars with the new Solid State Phased Array Radar System. Figure I. PAVE PAWS Radar at Cape Cod, MA Source: https://en.wilipedia.org/wiki/PAVE_PAWS#/media/ File:PAVE_PAWS_CapeCodAFS_ I 986.jpg. pacekaseda nfr.red \ \ys am (S\I RS) The Space-Based Infrared System is a series of 10 satellites designed to detect the launch of adversary missiles to provide early warning. These satellites operate in both geosynchronous and highly elliptical orbits that are designed to observe missile launches globally. During its development, SBIRS struggled with a number of cost overruns, resulting in a series of budget overruns, ultimately reducing the number of satellites that DOD procured. The Air Force is designing the Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) program to replace SBIRS. According to DOD budget documents, the first geosynchronous satellites are required by FY2025 to begin replacing satellites reaching the end of their service life, and the first polar satellites are scheduled to enter the force by FY2027. DOD intends to have Block 0 satellites operational by FY2029, with Block 1 ready to launch satellites to orbit beginning in FY2030. Advanced Extrtrndy H g rqec The Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) constellation is a group of communications satellites that provides both tactical communications (i.e., for conventional forces like Army brigade combat teams) and strategic communications (i.e., for nuclear forces). AEHF, first launched in August 2010, replaced the Miltstar constellation from the 1980s. Paired with the Family of Beyond Line-Of-Sight Terminals (FAB-T), AEHF provides assured communications to nuclear forces like the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, the B-2 Spirit, and the E-4B National Airborne Operations Center. The Space Force has begun developing a new series of communications satellites called the Evolved Strategic Satellite (ESS) program. This program originally envisioned procuring new satellites capable of providing both tactical and strategic communications, essentially \\'\\ \ L \N \ \A \N, \ \\ \ \ Q\\ \\\ \\\

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