Attack Warning: Status of the Survivable Communications Integration System

摘要

This report responds to a request for information on the Department of the AirForce's acquisition of the Survivable Communications Integration System (SCIS). Specifically, The General Accounting Office (GAO) was asked for information on program cost and schedule overruns, and the status of design and development activities that affect SCIS' ability to satisfy the Department of Defense's attack warning and attack assessment communications requirements. This report provides the details of that briefing. Appendix I contains our objectives, scope, and methodology, briefing charts, and explanatory narrative for each chart. SCIS is planned to be an automated communications system that will process and simultaneously send missile attack warning messages across different media to national decision makers. The system is being built as part of the Cheyenne Mountain Upgrade program to modernize the Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment system, which is used to support information processing needs for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). NORAD is responsible for warning United States and Canadian leaders that North America is under attack. The command and control center for NORAD is the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base, Colorado, which houses data processing and communications equipment supporting the tactical warning and attack assessment mission. (KAR) P. 2.