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Congressional Research Service
Informing th~ IegislThve debate since 1914
Updated October 3, 2024
Defense Primer: Nuclear Command, Control, and
Communications (NC3)
The Department of Defense (DOD) is replacing many
elements of the U.S. nuclear command, control, and
communications (NC3) architecture as part of the United
States' ongoing efforts to recapitalize its nuclear forces.
This architecture-composed of what some estimate as 204
individual ground, space, and airborne systems spread
across a number of military services, combatant commands,
and DOD components-supports the President's exercise of
nuclear employment authority. (CRS In Focus IF10521,
Defense Primer: Command and Control ofNuclear
Forces.)
U.S. NC3 systems must operate at all times, including
during and after an attack on the United States, to sense and
assess the operational environment; facilitate planning and
decisionmaker conferencing; and transmit orders from the
President to U.S. nuclear forces: aircraft in the air, ballistic
submarines (SSBNs) underwater, and intercontinental
ballistic missiles (ICBMs) deployed in silos across the
Midwest. (CRS In Focus IF10519, Defense Primer:
Strategic Nuclear Forces, and CRS In Focus IF12735, U.S.
Extended Deterrence and Regional Nuclear Capabilities.)
According to DOD, U.S. [NC3] is necessary to
ensure the authorized employment and/or termination
of nuclear weapons operations, to secure against
accidental, inadvertent, or unauthorized access, and to
prevent the loss of control, theft, or unauthorized use
of U.S. nuclear weapons.
The 2010, 2018, and 2022 Nuclear Posture Reviews
(NPRs)-periodic congressionally mandated executive
branch assessments of U.S. nuclear weapons policy-
highlighted the importance of modernizing NC3. According
to April 2024 congressional testimony of then-Principal
Assistant Deputy Secretary of Defense for Space Policy
Vipin Narang, the Biden Administration requested $11.4
billion for NC3 architecture modernization in FY2025. The
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in 2023 that
DOD efforts to sustain and modernize NC3 would cost
$117 billion from 2023 through 2032. Through defense
authorization and appropriation legislation and hearings,
Congress has provided funding for and oversight of NC3
architecture sustainment and modernization.
Selected NC3 System Eements
Early Warning Radars
The Space Force operates a number of missile warning
radars to detect and track potential incoming ICBMs and
submarine-launched ballistic missiles. These radars include
capabilities like the Precision Acquisition Vehicle Entry
Phased Array Warning System (PAVE PAWS), the
Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization
System (PARCS), and the COBRA DANE radar system.
These missile warning radars are periodically upgraded.
Missile Warning and Tracking
In 2011, the Space Force began deploying the Space-Based
Infrared System (SBIRS), a series of satellites and ground
systems to detect and track the launch of adversary missiles.
SBIRS satellites operate in geosynchronous (GEO) and
highly elliptical orbits to observe missile launches
worldwide. SBIRS is DOD's replacement of the 1970s
Defense Support Program satellites. The Space Force is
implementing the Next Generation Overhead Persistent
Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) program to eventually replace
SBIRS. Next-Gen OPIR is composed of several GEO
satellites, several polar-orbiting satellites, and a ground
system. In May 2024 congressional testimony, Assistant
Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and
Integration Frank Calvelli described Next-Gen OPIR as a
bridge to enable the eventual transition to a proliferated
and resilient missile warning and tracking architecture in
low and medium Earth orbits. The FY2025 budget request
includes $4.7 billion for space-based missile warning.
Hardened Satelto Communications
The Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF)
constellation is a group of hardened communications
satellites operated by the Space Force. AEHF, first
launched in August 2010, replaced the Milstar constellation
from the 1980s. Paired with the Family of Beyond Line-Of-
Sight Terminals (FAB-T) command post terminals, AEHF
aims to provide assured communications for nuclear and
conventional forces. In February 2024 congressional
testimony, U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM)
Commander General Anthony Cotton stated that the AEHF
constellation is fully deployed, while the command post
terminals leveraging it are nearing fully-fielded status. The
Space Force is developing a new series of satellites under
the Evolved Strategic SATCOM (ESS) program to
eventually replace AEHF. The FY2025 budget request
includes $1 billion for ESS research, development, testing,
and evaluation activities. According to Calvelli's May 2024
congressional testimony, the Space Force aims for ESS to
achieve initial operational capability by 2032.
ntegrated Tactica Warning/Attack Assessment
The goal of the Integrated Tactical Warning/Attack
Assessment (ITW/AA) system, centered at the Cheyenne
Mountain Complex, is to integrate and collate warning data
from terrestrial and space-based sensors, including ones](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/goveqvu0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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