Preparing for a possible EMP attack

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According to Yahoo News the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) shift back to the Cheyenne Mountain base in Colorado, is designed to safeguard the command’s sensitive sensors and servers from a potential electromagnetic pulse ( EMP) attack. The US military command, scanning North America’s skies for enemy missiles and aircraft, plans to move its communications gear to the Cold War-era mountain bunker, officers said.

Last week the Pentagon announced a $700 million contract with Raytheon Corporation, to oversee the work involved in the move for NORAD and the US Northern Command. Admiral William Gortney, at the head of these military bodies, said that “because of the very nature of the way that Cheyenne Mountain’s built, it is EMP-hardened.”

The Cheyenne mountain bunker is a half-acre cavern, carved into the mountain in the 1960s and originally designed to withstand a Soviet nuclear attack. At the time airmen were positioned inside the massive complex, to send warnings that could trigger the launch of nuclear missiles.

But in 2006, officials decided to move the headquarters from Cheyenne to Petersen Air Force base in Colorado Springs. The Cheyenne bunker was then designated as an alternative command center, if one is required. Now the Pentagon plans to shift communications gear back to the Cheyenne bunker.

Officials said the military’s dependence on computer networks and digital communications make it much more vulnerable to an electromagnetic pulse attack, which can occur naturally or result from a high-altitude nuclear explosion.

Under its 10-year contract, Raytheon is to deliver “sustainment” services to help the military perform “accurate, timely and unambiguous warning and attack assessment of air, missile and space threats,” at both the Cheyenne and Petersen bases.