The Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network (MEECN) is a network of systems providing uninterrupted communications throughout the pre-, trans-, and post-
nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear ...
environment. At minimum, MEECN is designed to provide a one-way flow of information to activate nuclear forces during severe jamming and a post-nuclear environment.
Components
As of 1994, MEECN consists of various programs: Miniature Receive Terminals (MRTs) for nuclear bombers, High Power Transmit Sets (HPTS) for
E-4B aircraft, Dual Frequency MEECN receivers (DFMRs) for ICBM
Launch Control Centers.
Ground Element MEECN System (GEMS)
The GEMS program, short for Ground Element Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network, is intended to replace deprecated communications facilities. This system features improved infrastructure for alerting aircrew, and maintaining communications in the event of nuclear conflict. Notable elements include updated Extremely High Frequency (EHF) communications satellites, and redundant Very Low Frequency (VLF) communication paths for strategic message traffic. The changes will resolve problems associated with aging or ineffective devices such as pagers, klaxons, and Emergency Action Message (EAM) processing systems.
Minuteman MEECN Program (MMP)
The Minuteman MEECN Program (MMP) replaced the aging
Survivable Low Frequency Communications System The AN/FRC-117 Survivable Low Frequency Communications System (SLFCS) was a communications system designed to be able to operate, albeit at low data transfer rates, during and after a nuclear attack.
The system used both very low frequency (VLF), an ...
(
SLFCS) Launch Control Centers (LCCs) with an Extremely High Frequency (EHF) and Very Low Frequency/Low Frequency (VLF/LF) communications equipment.
MMP consists of EHF
Milstar
Milstar (Military Strategic and Tactical Relay) is a constellation of military communications satellites in geosynchronous orbit, which are operated by the United States Space Force, and provide secure and jam-resistant worldwide communications ...
and VLF/LF communications equipment.
Air Force FOIA documents: 392d Training Squadron slides on MEECN, no date
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The 91st Missile Wing's Oscar-01 at Minot AFB
Minot Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation in Ward County, North Dakota, north of the city of Minot via U.S. Route 83. In the 2020 census, the base was counted as a CDP with a total population of 5,017, down from 5,521 in ...
, North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
was the last Minuteman
Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...
Launch Control Center to have updated to the MMP configuration.
See also
* Post-Attack Command and Control System
The Post Attack Command and Control System (PACCS) was a network of communication sites (both ground and airborne) for use before, during and after a nuclear attack on the United States. PACCS was designed to ensure that National Command Authorit ...
( PACCS)
* Airborne Launch Control System ( ALCS)
* Ground Wave Emergency Network
The Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) was a command and control communications system intended for use by the United States government to facilitate military communications before, during and after a nuclear war. Specifically, the GWEN networ ...
(GWEN Gwen may refer to:
* Gwen (given name), including a list of people with the name
* ''Gwen, or the Book of Sand'', a 1985 animated film
* Gwen (film), a 2018 horror film
* Tropical Storm Gwen, several storms with the name
Acronyms
* AN/URC-117 Grou ...
)
* Survivable Low Frequency Communications System The AN/FRC-117 Survivable Low Frequency Communications System (SLFCS) was a communications system designed to be able to operate, albeit at low data transfer rates, during and after a nuclear attack.
The system used both very low frequency (VLF), an ...
( SLFCS)
References
{{USAF system codes
Nuclear warfare
Telecommunications equipment of the Cold War
United States nuclear command and control