As the United States military’s nuclear triad stands ready to protect and defend the U.S. and its Allies and Partners, the Nuclear Command, Control and Communication (NC3) Enterprise Center (NEC) lives at the heart of the triad’s NC3 capabilities.
The NEC, which began operation in 2019 at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, is charged with ensuring the U.S. military’s NC3 capability across the full spectrum of conflict. Through careful planning and investments that expand the resiliency and reliability of the system overall, the NEC’s mission involves ensuring the ability of adversaries to disrupt, deny or destroy the architecture is reduced to a negligible amount. The enterprise is constantly evolving and upgrading, adding new capabilities on a regular
basis to assure operations.
Amanda Kato, the NEC’s director since August 2024, serves as the advisor on NC3 to Gen. Anthony Cotton, Commander of U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) enterprise lead on NC3. She and her team are charged with modernizing NC3 capabilities as the weapons systems in the nuclear triad — intercontinental ballistic missiles, ballistic missile submarines and strategic bombers — are modernized.
Kato served in the U.S. Air Force for 29 years in various operational and staff positions before retiring in 2021. She left retirement to take on her new post, which she viewed as an opportunity to influence a mission she remains passionate about.
“When I saw the opportunity out there, I knew the NEC needed a leader with my unique background who could allow the NEC to grow,” Kato said. “I was concerned about what I was seeing regarding adversary capabilities and felt compelled to offer my expertise and guidance.”
The nuclear triad’s linchpin
NC3 is critical to nuclear command and control, the exercise of authority and direction over nuclear weapon operations by the U.S. president as the Commander in Chief. These lines of communications must be assured, timely, secure, survivable and enduring to provide pathways for the president to make and communicate critical decisions regardless of the environment or threat.
A recent report by the U.S. Congressional Research Service on NC3 described it as a “collection of activities, processes and procedures performed by appropriate military commanders and support personnel that, through the chain of command, allow for senior-level decisions on nuclear weapons employment.” The 2022 U.S. Nuclear Posture Review stated that the NC3 system “must provide command and control of U.S. nuclear forces at all times and under all circumstances, including during and following a nuclear or nonnuclear attack by any adversary.” It went on to list five essential functions, including “detection, warning and attack characterization; adaptive nuclear planning; decision-making conferencing; receiving and executing presidential orders; and enabling the management and direction of forces.”
Retired Rear Adm. Ronald Fritzemeier, who served as NEC director from 2019 to 2021, said the organization can be viewed as an orchestra conductor who coordinates the systems that comprise the enterprise. The NEC oversees NC3 operations, maintains enterprisewide visibility and assesses operational and technical risk. It guides the direction and improvement of the NC3 Enterprise technical architecture and, with the collaboration of NC3 stakeholders, develops and advocates for future capabilities. Multiple technologies support these functions, including radars, satellites and processing systems relying on technologies required to allow unimpeded communication between all elements, from the U.S. president to the individual service members charged with the delivery of nuclear munitions.
The NEC is the connective tissue that ties together the whole of government, academia, industry and Allies and Partners — a valuable collaboration that enables robust and survivable capabilities, capacity and communications.”
~ Amanda Kato, NEC director
NC3 is the linchpin to all nuclear operations, and its ability to pass messages across the enterprise ensures the success of the U.S. nuclear mission. “NC3 assures the integrity of transmitted information and must be survivable to reliably overcome the effects of a nuclear attack,” according to the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Matters’ Handbook. Only personnel who are “appropriately trained, cleared, experienced and demonstrate reliability are authorized to perform NC3 duties,” according to the handbook. This limits the number of involved personnel to only those trusted agents who can fully meet the requirements of their position, protecting the system from insider threats and sabotage by foreign intelligence services. Personnel are vetted, trained and must maintain security clearances to ensure the trust and reliability of the human elements of the system.
NC3 procedures and processes are rigorously designed, meticulously followed and regularly exercised. A deep understanding of how each position conducts its role and responsibilities in the NC3 system ensures predictable actions are undertaken by vetted personnel. This enhances trust in the process and limits opportunities for negligence as deviations from well-established processes can be easily identified and rectified through constant training and process improvement.
NC3 relies on a survivable network of communications and warning systems, both stationary and mobile, to ensure redundancy and dependable connectivity, including the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon, the Global Operations Center at USSTRATCOM headquarters, the E-4B National Airborne Operations Center (NAOC), the E-6B aircraft’s “Take Charge and Move Out” and the E-6B Airborne Command Post and additional operation centers. These facilities provide full-spectrum command and control for nuclear forces across the globe and enable day-to-day management of forces and monitoring of world events with zero downtime. The command calls it “fight tonight” mission readiness. If any of the command centers are incapacitated or destroyed, command and control operations can transfer seamlessly with little time between locations, and the airborne command posts are ready to take off within minutes if required. Land-based communications mediums, including nonsecure and secure phone lines, undersea cables and wireless networks, join the airborne relays and satellite sensors to receive and transmit data, voice and video. Many systems are designed to operate even after a nuclear attack while others are designed to be reconstituted within minutes or hours.
Embracing new technologies
Under the leadership of the USSTRATCOM Commander, the NEC ensures that planning and investments support continued reliability and survivability of NC3 capabilities.
“The NEC is the connective tissue that ties together the whole of government, academia, industry and Allies and Partners — a valuable collaboration that enables robust and survivable capabilities, capacity and communications,” Kato said. “As the rest of the U.S.’s nuclear triad modernizes, NC3 must modernize as well to ensure survivability and resilience. We must preserve the attributes of all of the associated systems that underpin NC3. We cannot afford to become a limiting factor that undermines deterrence.”
This includes evaluating and integrating emerging capabilities in the private sector to fill capability gaps. Part of the NEC’s responsibilities include the rigorous testing of new capabilities for possible integration. This requires a strong relationship with industry and academic leaders, a relationship that has proved beneficial in recent years but will expand as needs for modernization evolve.
Three examples of modernization initiatives already underway include:
- The Survivable Airborne Operations Center, a new aircraft that will replace the E-4B NAOC to command nuclear forces from across the globe.
- The Very Low Frequency Receiver program, which enables receivers to connect aircraft, bombers, tankers and intercontinental ballistic missile launch control centers over reliable and secure transmissions over very long distances.
- Replacements of key survivable ground terminals, including the Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals, Global Aircrew Strategic Network Terminal, the Minuteman Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network Program Upgrade, and Presidential and National Voice Conferencing.
These and many more technologies are on the horizon for the United States’ NC3 capabilities. The NEC prides itself on exploring all technologies, techniques and methods to enable modernization and next-generation efforts. At a time when adversary capabilities are constantly evolving, their efforts ensure that the United States’ NC3 capability remains ready to support the nuclear mission for the U.S. and its Allies and Partners.