Missile defense

New Air Force technology aims to stop nuclear attacks faster

The Air Force and industry are taking new technical steps to quickly alert commanders in the event that the U.S. comes under nuclear attack, by increasing the time window with which decision-makers have to both defend and potentially retaliate.

This includes using emerging software and hardware technologies and new architecture to, among other things, migrate time-sensitive targeting data to the cloud, increase network resiliency and better connect space, air and ground nodes into a fast, seamless integrated threat analysis system. The current work, which includes new technical methods of engineering communications nodes within a broad network, is part of an overall Pentagon strategy to improve missile warning systems as quickly as new technology emerges.

Part of this effort involves a recent $197 million deal between the Air Force and Raytheon to advance an emerging system called FORGE (Future Operationally Resilient Ground Enterprise). The Raytheon system helps architect the technical apparatus to gather, store, safeguard and network missile-attack related sensor information. It involves synchronizing fixed ground terminals with other nodes such as air and space assets; it also leverages cloud technology. In effect, when Spaced-Based Infrared sensors (SBIR) detect the heat and light signature of an enemy missile launch, the data is then networked to key ground sites and passed to the appropriate decision-makers - such as the President.