Nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) systems urgently require modernization. How will advanced technologies impact NC3, what emergent properties can we anticipate, and where are collaborative opportunities? The very nature of NC3 faces urgent challenges, but there has been no unclassified benchmarking since the 1980s of what the recent USSTRATCOM Commander calls the “fourth leg of the triad.”
To address this gap and the emerging issues associated with the modernization of global NC3 systems, we hosted two days of multi-sector discussions at the Hoover Institution on January 22-23, 2019. Participants were a cross-section of specialist fields who would otherwise not typically converge, including nuclear, political, history, law, engineering, computer science, security, and more. The gathering sought to identify pathways and approaches to the challenges of NC3 from different perspectives. The workshop was convened by the the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability, the Institute for Security and Technology, and the Preventive Defense Project (Stanford University), conducted under the operating protocols of the Chatham House rule.
In partnership with Nautilus – whose leader Peter Hayes has been the driving force behind this initiative since the outset – we released over 25 reports (with accompanying podcast interviews) based on the discussions held during the workshop. Take a look below and get in touch with your questions, comments, and ideas at [email protected].