THERESA HITCHENS
While the Defense Department is investing billions in modernization of all three legs of the nuclear triad, it is in danger of losing sight of serious risks to the foundational space-based systems of nuclear command, control and communications (NC3) that underpin those air-, land- and sea-based weapons, a study published today by the Atlantic Council argues.
Critically, NC3’s space-based elements “face different geopolitical, technical, and bureaucratic challenges” than the other elements of the broad, multi-year nuclear modernization effort — for which the Pentagon asked nearly $50 billion in its fiscal 2025 budget request, the study, “Modernizing
Space-Based Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications,” finds.
“Geopolitically, the two-nuclear-peer challenge, China’s perception of NC3 and strategic stability, and the prospect of limited nuclear use call into question the sufficiency of existing and next-generation NC3. Technically, Russia and China are developing more sophisticated counterspace weapons, which hold at risk space-based US NC3. Bureaucratically, the US Department of Defense (DOD)’s shift to a proliferated space architecture may not be appropriately prioritizing requirements for systems that are essential for NC3 missions,” the study sums up.
No comments:
Post a Comment