Modernizing the sensor systems that monitor the national airspace remains the No. 1 unfunded requirement of US Northern Command, Gen. Victor Renuart, who heads the command as well as NORAD, told the Senate Armed Services Committee March 6. Because of that, Operation Noble Eagle remains essential for the foreseeable future, he said. “The systems that we use to identify traffic in our national aerospace are aging,” Renuart told the panel. “We are working on some advanced technologies to allow us to perform that via broader means.” But in the meanwhile, “the ability to put eyes and, if you will, radars on the air threat is critical to us,” he said of the fighters and airborne surveillance platforms that patrol US skies as part of ONE. He also said ONE aircraft “have a key role to play” in monitoring for “low observable and cruise missiles.” So for the future, he said “I see that role continuing. I see it vital to our national defense. And I would continue to recommend to the secretary that we keep that force available to us.”
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
