US wants to increase monitoring of nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile silos in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota with the IRON system

The United States Air Force has signed a contract with Persistent Systems to provide perimeter security for silos housing nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles.

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The US Air Force believes that an area of 25,000 square miles (65,000 sq km) is difficult to monitor with human resources alone. This will soon be handled by the Regional Operational Network (IRON), which uses antenna systems on fixed towers to provide voice, video, and GPS and sensor data exchange.

The $75.5m contract will see Persistent install 700 sites near three US Air Force bases - Malmstrom, Minot and F.E. Warren in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming, respectively - by March.

The IRON system, based on the mobile ad hoc MANET network, will provide permanent coverage and allow security personnel to monitor military installations from an operations centre. Persistent's development also includes radar countermeasures against drones.

Source: Defence News