Latest news with #EC-135
The Hill
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
America is prepared for a strike on our nuclear weapons
In a recent op-ed for The Hill, ' America Isn't Prepared for a Strike Against our Nuclear Weapons,' freelance journalist Ben Ollerenshaw argued that the U.S. is woefully unprepared for the nuclear threats facing the nation because it relies on a 'single point of failure: the nuclear command, control and communications systems.' He explains that the nation is dependent on highly vulnerable E-6B Mercury command-and-control aircraft that, because they are now on 'ground alert' rather than flying 24/7, make easy targets for a surprise nuclear, drone or missile attack. Should such an attack occur, Ollerenshaw argues that the president could no longer employ the nation's nuclear weapons. Fortunately, this is simply untrue. The nuclear command, control and communications system has far more ways to transmit presidential orders. The system connects sensors and shooters with decision-makers using a detect, decide, and direct framework. Detection harnesses sensors that identify and correlate adversary launches to facilitate warning. Once detection is established and the assessment is made, senior leaders confer, review plans and determine appropriate courses of action during the decision process. Finally, presidential decisions are transmitted through the system to the nuclear forces charged with weapons employment, under any circumstance or environment, guaranteed. To accomplish this audacious mission, the system must be survivable, prompt and flexible. Keep in mind that the nation's nuclear command, control and communications system is essentially a system of systems resembling a spider web. If one strand is broken, there are other strands a president can use to ensure a message is transmitted to forces in the field. Historically, it was thought of as having a 'thick line' during times of peace, and a survivable 'thin line' during times of war, should a Soviet nuclear attack devastate the U.S. In peacetime, the National Military Command Center at the Pentagon and the Global Operations Center at US Strategic Command serve as the primary command and control centers for the nation's nuclear forces. These facilities are not designed to survive direct nuclear strikes, but for the last seven decades, they and their predecessors performed the job in times of peace and crisis. During the Cold War (1961-1990), the country also maintained EC-135 command-and-control aircraft in continuous airborne operations, flying around the clock, seven days a week. The airborne command post mirrored the capabilities of the Global Operations Center, so that if the latter was destroyed in a nuclear attack, the Airborne Emergency Action Officer could take over and perform the duties of commander for the Strategic Air Command. The Looking Glass aircraft were an insurance policy against a surprise Soviet nuclear strike. They enhanced second-strike capability, strengthened strategic stability, and provided a psychological and political signal. The continuous presence of Looking Glass sent a clear signal of American resolve, vigilance and readiness to respond, reinforcing the overall framework of strategic deterrence. This did not, however, mean that the National Military Command Center, Global Operations Center and Looking Glass aircraft were the only ways for the president to command and control nuclear forces. It was, in fact, expected that both the National Military Command Center and Global Operations Center would be destroyed early in a Soviet nuclear strike, and that the command post aircraft would quickly take over. There was, however, always a concern that the aircraft would either be destroyed by Soviet aircraft or missiles or simply run out of fuel for lack of remaining and available aerial refueling capability. So it should come as no surprise that the Air Force devised 'backups to our backups' and spent considerable time working through all plausible scenarios where not only were the National Military Command Center and the Global Operations Center destroyed in an attack, but so were the KC-135s and now E-6B fleet. In our own careers, we have participated in wargames, exercises and working groups where just such events occurred. It is also important to understand that U.S. Strategic Command, the joint staff, and other elements of the national command authority regularly conduct exercises under conditions that mimic catastrophic events. This means the uniformed and civilian personnel who operate the nuclear command, control and communications system regularly train to operate in degraded conditions. The 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, released under the Biden administration, reiterated a longstanding policy that 'while the United States maintains the capability to launch nuclear forces under conditions of an ongoing nuclear attack, it does not rely on a launch-under-attack policy to ensure a credible response. Rather, U.S. nuclear forces are postured to withstand an initial attack.' For decades, the U.S. opted for redundancy to meet its resilience requirement. Redundant systems, redundant command nodes, and redundant communication pathways require consistent resourcing and persistent exercise if America is to retain its noble intent to 'ride out' a first strike. There is no deterrence without a credible threat of existential retaliation. That means America's nuclear command, control and communications systems must always work after a first strike on the homeland. From nuclear arsenal resourcing to force posture and launch policy, America's deterrent cannot depend on hope to survive; it must depend on action. That is exactly how the system is designed. Adam Lowther, Ph.D., is the vice president of research at the National Institute for Deterrence Studies. He spent two decades as a civil servant in the Department of Defense nuclear enterprise. Col. (Ret.) Curtis McGiffin is the vice president of education at the National Institute for Deterrence Studies. He flew nuclear command-and-control aircraft during his career.
Hindustan Times
30-07-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
German military helicopter crashes in Saxony, two soldiers killed
At least two members of the German air force were killed when their helicopter crashed during a training flight in the east of the country, the defence ministry said Tuesday. The crash happened near the town of Grimma in the eastern state of Saxony. An air force spokeswoman told AFP that the two deceased crew members were "experienced" and said that a third was still being searched for. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that the two dead soldiers were members of the air force's Helicopter Wing 64. The helicopter had been hired for training purposes and crashed for as yet unknown reasons into the Mulde river earlier on Tuesday. The EC-135 helicopter went missing in the morning, and local police said that canoeists later spotted parts of the helicopter in the river. More than 100 emergency service members, including police divers, joined the search for the crew. A boom has been deployed in the Mulde River because of kerosene leaking from the helicopter. "The death of the crew members has affected me and the whole of the armed forces deeply. Our thoughts are with their relatives and relatives," Pistorius said. He added that "everything possible" would be done to investigate the circumstances of the crash.
New Straits Times
29-07-2025
- General
- New Straits Times
Two killed in German military helicopter crash during training flight
BERLIN: At least two members of the German air force were killed when their helicopter crashed during a training flight in the east of the country, the defence ministry said Tuesday. The crash happened near the town of Grimma in the eastern state of Saxony. An air force spokeswoman told AFP that the two deceased crew members were "experienced" and said that a third was still being searched for. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said that the two dead soldiers were members of the air force's Helicopter Wing 64. The helicopter had been hired for training purposes and crashed for as yet unknown reasons into the Mulde river earlier on Tuesday. The EC-135 helicopter went missing in the morning and local police said that canoeists later spotted parts of the helicopter in the river. More than 100 emergency service members, including police divers, joined the search for the crew. A boom has been deployed in the Mulde river because of kerosene leaking from the helicopter. "The death of the crew members has affected me and the whole of the armed forces deeply. Our thoughts are with their relatives and relatives," Pistorius said. He added that "everything possible" would be done to investigate the circumstances of the crash.--AFP
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Memories, legacy of 1981 Walkersville plane crash live on
For Vincent Gratch, coming to the memorial in Walkersville's Heritage Farm Park brings back powerful memories. He was only 12 when his older brother Charlie died on May 6, 1981, in the crash of an Air Force EC-135 surveillance plane in a field near the town. Charlie graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1978, and was serving as a mission coordinator on the flight, Gratch said. Their uncle was a colonel in the Air Force, and Charlie had wanted to be in the Air Force since he was a teenager, he said. Gratch was one of nearly two dozen people who attended an annual service at the memorial on the 44th anniversary of the crash Tuesday. Being at the scene of the crash makes him feel a connection to his brother, he said. 'I feel like I'm at peace here,' he said. Jessica Lassetter was almost 2 when her father, Capt. Thomas Bayliss, was killed in the crash. She doesn't have any memories of her father. Coming to the site is hard, she said. But the anniversary ceremonies remind her that it was not just her family who was impacted by the event. 'It feels like part of a community,' she said. The plane was on a training flight out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. The U.S. Air Force Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft (ARIA) program that the plane was a part of was designed to support the Apollo space program, and was later reassigned to track various types of missile tests. The flights usually took four to five hours, and would often follow a flight path from the base in Ohio to the Washington area and back, said Jeff Bressler, a former master sergeant who served in the ARIA program. Bressler had been scheduled to be on the training flight, but was switched to a different assignment the day before. He was on the flight line at Wright-Patterson when news came of the crash. 'It didn't strike me [at first] as our plane,' he said. The base command quickly closed the flight line and called everyone into a meeting to share the news of what happened, he said. Bressler said Tuesday was the second time he attended a ceremony at the Walkersville site, but he attended similar events in Dayton many times. The crash shocked the base community, but also served as a source of bonding and support, said Bob Beach, a friend of Charlie Gratch, whose desk was next to his. The wives of the families on the base quickly donated a grove of 21 trees to honor those who died, he said. Among the 21 people on the plane were two wives of crew members, Peggy Emilio and Linda Fonke, part of an Air Force program for families to get a better understanding of what their family members did on the job. The program came to an end after the Walkersville crash, Beach said. Vincent Gratch said it is special to see so many people continue to honor the memories of the 21 victims of the crash. 'That accident touched them all,' he said.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Three taken to hospital after a medical helicopter crash in North Carolina
WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Three people were taken to a hospital after a medical helicopter crashed in a wooded area near a North Carolina airport, officials said. Three team members who were on the AirLink helicopter on Monday night were transported for evaluation, but no patients were on board, Novant Health said in a statement. The Eurocopter EC-135 helicopter crashed near Wilmington International Airport around 7:50 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. An online FAA preliminary report listed the injuries of one flight crew member as serious, but the extent of injuries to the other two aboard was listed as unknown. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
