New B-2 Comms Could Hold Up in Nuclear War

By Kris Osborn

The aircraft is prepared to execute attack missions in the event of nuclear war.

The service is integrating more resilient receivers, processors and waveforms better able to function in an environment where there has been a nuclear detonation – a circumstance called high-altitude electro-magnetic pulse environment.

A B-2 crew, for instance, may need to execute mission orders from the President and receive crucial details of enormous consequence, should a nuclear weapons confrontation take place. For this reason, making sure lines of communication are “hardened,” or sufficiently durable to operate in such an extreme nuclear environment, would be of utmost importance in a highly compromised combat communications scenario.

The Air Force will add a Common Very Low Frequency Receiver to improve communication in the event of a nuclear detonation.

“We are working on technical maturation and risk reduction. One of the areas we are invested in is nuclear command and control communication,” Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, Military Deputy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition told Scout Warrior in an interview.

The connection with the new receiver uses the Very Low/Low Frequency, or VLF/LF, waveform. It is secure and beyond line of sight, Air Force developers said.

However, the B-2 cannot transmit VLF/LF data — it can only receive data. Once fielded, B-2 aircrew could receive targeting instructions from the President, but would not be able to transmit information.