The Strategic Automated Command and Control System (SACCS) is a

United States Strategic Command United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear deter ...

command and control system to coordinate the operational functions of

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

nuclear forces (

ICBMs An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...

, nuclear bombers, and

SLBM A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead ...

s).

Background

The

ITT 465L Strategic Air Command Control System The ITT 465L Strategic Air Command Control System (SACCS, SAC Control System, 465L Project, 465L Program) was a Cold War "Big L" network of computer and communication systems for command and control of Strategic Air Command "combat aircraft, r ...

(SACCS) with its

IBM AN/FSQ-31 SAC Data Processing System The IBM AN/FSQ-31 SAC Data Processing System (FSQ-31, Q-31, colloq.) was a USAF command, control, and coordination system for the Cold War Strategic Air Command (SAC). IBM's Federal Systems Division was the prime contractor for the AN/FSQ-31s, ...

s attained operational capability on January 1, 1968; and its gradual replacement began on October 6, 1975, when the SACCS original IBM 4020 Military Computers were replaced by

Honeywell 6080 Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance m ...

computers (remaining FSQ-31 components were entirely decommissioned in November.) The

Strategic Air Command Digital Information Network The Strategic Air Command DIgital Network (SACDIN) was a United States military computer network that provided computerized record communications, replacing the Data Transmission Subsystem and part of the Data Display Subsystem of the SAC Automated ...

was deployed to replace SACCS' "Data Transmission Subsystem and part of the Data Display Subsystem", e.g., on November 5, 1986, " Martin Marietta Corporation technicians began installing SAC Digital Network (SACDIN) equipment in 91st Strategic Missile Wing missile launch control centers (i.e., either a HUTE rack or MBCP rack). On February 20, 1987, "SAC declared initial operational capability for the SAC Digital Network when toperated successfully between the Headquarters SAC Command Center and the

55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing The 55th Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. The wing is primarily stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, but maintains one of its groups and associated squadrons at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ari ...

Command Post, both located at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, and the 351st Strategic Missile Wing Command Post at

Whiteman AFB Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located just south of Knob Noster, Missouri, United States. The base is the current home of the B-2 Spirit bomber. It is named for 2nd Lt George Whiteman, who was killed during the attack ...

, Missouri." SACDIN eventually "linked 135 locations and permitted two-way message communications with ICBM launch control centers for the first time," and the

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 network ...

communication system had a Final Environmental Impact Statement issued in September 1987.

SAC Automated Command and Control System

In 1990 when the 465L System had been entirely replaced by the " SAC Auto Cmd/Ctl Sys" for several years, the former SAC C² system continued using that name as part (except for the SACCS Data Processing System) of "

USSTRATCOM United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear dete ...

Command and Control" ( PE 0101316F). By 1995, the " emergency war order (EWO) communication systems consist dof the primary alert system (PAS), SAC digital network (SACDIN), Survivable Low Frequency Communications System (SLFCS), Air Force Satellite Communications System (AFSATCOM),

CBM CBM may refer to: Businesses and corporations * Cambrex Corporation (NYSE: CBM) * CBM (AM), a radio station in Montreal now known as CBME-FM * CBM-FM, a radio station in Montreal * CBM TV, a scrapped Freeview channel * Central Bank of Myanmar * Che ...

Super High Frequency Satellite Terminal (ISST) and HFvoice radio communication systems" The USSTRATCOM SACCS was redesignated Strategic Automated Command and Control System with the same acronym on tbd\ and by 2011, the Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network was being modernized in the Nuclear Command and Control System. By February 2012, USSTRATCOM was using the

Integrated Strategic Planning and Analysis Network Integration may refer to: Biology *Multisensory integration * Path integration * Pre-integration complex, viral genetic material used to insert a viral genome into a host genome *DNA integration, by means of site-specific recombinase technology ...

(ISPAN), and the USSTRATCOM Replacement Facility Fit-Out (PE 0303255F) was to "include secure HEMP-Shielded Command and Control Center, mainframe computer data centers, multiple 24/7 mission operations centers, storage and maintenance areas, labs/workrooms, back-up generators, Uninterruptible Power Source, Technical Control Facility, Fiber Ring,

ith funding The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediat ...

beginning in FY13."

Age of system and planned replacement

A Government Accountability Office report on aging and outdated "legacy systems" used by the federal government published in 2016 noted that the SACCS was one of the oldest federal IT investments, running on 1970s-era

IBM Series/1 The IBM Series/1 is a 16-bit minicomputer, introduced in 1976, that in many respects competed with other minicomputers of the time, such as the PDP-11 from Digital Equipment Corporation and similar offerings from Data General and HP. The S ...

software and 8-inch floppy disks.David A. Powner, GAO-16-696T
Information Technology: Federal Agencies Need to Address Aging Legacy Systems
Government Accountability Office (testimony before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, House of Representatives (May 25, 2016). The report noted that the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

"plans to update its data storage solutions, port expansion processors, portable terminals, and desktop terminals by the end of fiscal year 2017."

References

{{USAF system codes Strategic Air Command command and control systems