Command Data Buffer (CDB) was a system used by the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...
's
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 ...
ICBM force. CDB was a method to transfer targeting information from a Minuteman
Launch Control Center to an individual missile by communications lines. Prior to CDB, new missile guidance would have to be physically loaded at the
launch facility; the process usually took hours.
History
The surviving remnant of the Minuteman Command Control System (MICCS), CDB permitted the rapid, remote, retargeting of the Minuteman III fleet. CDB was operational at all Minuteman III wings by 15 Aug 1977. Minuteman II wings had a similar install, designated
Improved Launch Control System, providing the older system the potential for remote retargeting.
Phaseout
CDB was replaced in the late 1990s by the
Rapid Execution and Combat Targeting The United States Air Force's Rapid Execution and Combat Targeting System (REACT) is a modification of the LGM-30 Minuteman launch control centers (LCC's) that provides continual monitoring and rapid retargeting of Minuteman ICBM
An interco ...
system, currently in use by United States ICBM forces.
FAS.org: Rapid Execution and Combat Targeting
/ref>
See also
* LGM-30 Minuteman
The LGM-30 Minuteman is an American land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in service with the Air Force Global Strike Command. , the LGM-30G Minuteman III version is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States and re ...
* Launch control center (ICBM)
A launch control center (LCC), in the United States, is the main control facility for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). A launch control center monitors and controls missile launch facilities. From a launch control center, the miss ...
* Improved Launch Control System - Minuteman II upgrade similar to CDB
* Rapid Execution and Combat Targeting System The United States Air Force's Rapid Execution and Combat Targeting System (REACT) is a modification of the LGM-30 Minuteman launch control centers (LCC's) that provides continual monitoring and rapid retargeting of Minuteman
Minutemen were mem ...
(REACT)
References
United States nuclear command and control
Cold War weapons of the United States
Nuclear weapons of the United States
Computer memory
Synchronization
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