March 7, 2023, 9:30 am – Updated March 7, 2023, 10:30 am
The United States of America is the leading military power on the planet. According to the World Bank, it spends billions of dollars each year to maintain and develop military systems. This event features, among other things, authentic technological marvels, including the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet and the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) carrier.
However, not everything that falls under the Department of Defense umbrella shines as brightly as the aforementioned examples. One of them, apparently, is the core hardware system, the same one that required up until the late 8-inch floppy disk and 1970s-era computers to function.
Although the floppy disk issue was resolved four years ago, the country relies on the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) platform that has been in operation for more than 50 years and has 400 silos spread across different strategic locations. points . Now America wants to make it safer.
Objective: enhance the security of the US nuclear arsenal
Today’s security solutions in the US arsenal consist of different pieces: a large number of military personnel, a fleet of surveillance vehicles, radar and cameras. But distance and many geographical features are a major barrier to communication, as the Persistent System demonstrates.
On occasion, secure links can go offline, immediately resulting in a critical level of security weakness. To this end, the United States Air Force has awarded a $75.5 million contract to the aforementioned company to have the world’s largest wireless network in its service.
The figures really falter for the purpose. This network will be in charge of maintaining stable and secure communication within the 40,233 square kilometers in which the nuclear silos are located. The main advantage of this type of network, as we can connect two computers in our homes wirelessly to transfer files, is that it has a “decentralized” nature.
In other words, it does not rely on active infrastructure such as roads or access points to function. Each node is responsible for participating in sending alarm information to other nodes in the network, which provides a more reliable system than the one currently used, which is based on a centralized database, which can fail and disrupt communications to a large extent.
The persistence system says its technology uses an algorithm called WaveRelay that automatically retransmits data through the nearest network node in case the receiver is out of range. It also has added security in that it can identify attempts to intercept and sabotage communication.
The new network will be made up of 700 directional antennas, 75 operations centers, 1,700 smart radios that will be used by security personnel and will be capable of transmitting voice, video, messages and position data (GPS). Guard vehicles, for their part, will be equipped with MPU5 radios, which are certified as small computers for use in military communications.
The main aspect of this contract is that the management and ownership of the network will be placed in the Air Force, a completely understandable move when talking about a key part in maintaining the US nuclear security arsenal. The project has already been procured and should be completed in about a year and a half.
Images: Department of Defense | Persistent System
