The Global Nuclear Detection Architecture: Issues for Congress

Abstract

The U.S. government has implemented a series of programs to protect the nation against terrorist nuclear attack. These programs have historically been viewed as lacking coordination and centralized oversight. In 2006, the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) was established within the Department of Homeland Security to centralize coordination of the federal response to an unconventional nuclear threat. The office was given specific statutory responsibilities to protect the United States against radiological and nuclear attack, including the responsibility to develop a global nuclear detection architecture. Determining the range of existing federal efforts protecting against nuclear attack, coordinating the outcomes of these efforts, identifying overlaps and gaps between them, and integrating the results into a single architecture are likely to be evolving, ongoing tasks. The global nuclear detection architecture is a multi-layered system of detection technologies, programs, and guidelines. Among its components are existing programs in other federal agencies and new programs put into place by DNDO. The global nuclear detection architecture is developed by DNDO in coordination with other federal agencies; this coordination is essential to the success of the architecture. The DNDO is developing risk and cost methodologies to be applied to the architecture in order to understand and prioritize the various nuclear detection programs and activities in multiple federal agencies. Congress, in its oversight capacity, has shown interest in the development and implementation of the global nuclear detection architecture. Other issues that may be foci of attention include the balance between investment in near- and long-term solutions, the degree and efficacy of federal agency coordination, the mechanism for setting investment priorities in the architecture, and the efforts DNDO has undertaken to retain institutional knowledge regarding this sustained architecture effort.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 16, 2008
Accession Number
ADA485721

Entities

People

  • Dana A. Shea

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Cyber
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Border Security
  • Counterterrorism
  • Cybersecurity
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • Interagency Coordination
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Materials
  • Risk Analysis
  • Security Personnel
  • Systems Engineering
  • United States
  • United States Government

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Strategic Security Studies