Elizabeth Durham-Ruiz, director of command, control, communications and computer systems for the U.S. Strategic Command, said the command has a viable plan to modernize the legacy nuclear triad, Space News reported Friday.
Durham-Ruiz noted in an interview that the command wants to take a holistic approach to addressing the nuclear command, control and communications enterprise’s integration, operations, analytics, requirements and systems engineering. She added that while all three of the system’s legs are being updated, it is still too early to say which future technologies will be implemented.
Gen. John Hyten, commander of Strategic Command, has been communicating with industry representatives, academic entities and national laboratories to support the effort, Durham-Ruiz said.
The initiative, known as NC3, includes a communications architecture and terrestrial sensors intended for threat monitoring activities. Modernization efforts will cost a projected $494B during the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.