North Dakota’s Deep Defense Ecosystem

BISMARCK– U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) penned an op-ed in the Grand Forks Herald discussing how North Dakota has one of the most diverse and critical defense ecosystems in the nation. Specifically, he highlighted Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) and its many transitions to meet emerging threats.

“North Dakota has strung together one of the most diverse and critical defense ecosystems in the nation. It formed from geographic necessity, a patriotic population, innovative educational institutions, and forward-thinking local, state, and federal government officials. It did not come together overnight, and no one piece defines the value of the whole. But the sum of these complex, interconnected parts has become a massive piece of our nation’s defense,” wrote Senator Cramer.

“There is no better example than the Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) and its many transitions to meet emerging threats. It has evolved from fighters, bombers, missiles, tankers, and now unmanned aircraft. Its latest military missions involve cutting-edge drone and space technologies that keep our defense capabilities relevant against peer adversaries like China. While change is never easy, efforts by state and local governments to take care of Grand Forks Airmen and their families have created one of the nation’s most supportive base communities,” continued Senator Cramer.

“Our ecosystem is robust and growing and it must not slow down. The United States cashed in at the end of the Cold War while our enemies, including Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran have been investing heavily in leveling the playing field for war. North Dakota’s defense ecosystem is a crucial part of never letting our enemies achieve that goal,” concluded Senator Cramer.

The definition of an ecosystem is a complex network “or” interconnected system. But, when considering North Dakota’s defense ecosystem, I believe it is best defined as a complex network “of” interconnected systems.

North Dakota has strung together one of the most diverse and critical defense ecosystems in the nation. It formed from geographic necessity, a patriotic population, innovative educational institutions, and forward-thinking local, state, and federal government officials. It did not come together overnight, and no one piece defines the value of the whole. But the sum of these complex, interconnected parts has become a massive piece of our nation’s defense.

The geographic necessity of the Cold War defined the early roles of many of our military bases, but a larger story is how these bases have evolved to continue meeting the nation’s defense needs.

There is no better example than the Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) and its many transitions to meet emerging threats. It has evolved from fighters, bombers, missiles, tankers, and now unmanned aircraft. Its latest military missions involve cutting-edge drone and space technologies that keep our defense capabilities relevant against peer adversaries like China. While change is never easy, efforts by state and local governments to take care of Grand Forks Airmen and their families have created one of the nation’s most supportive base communities.

North Dakota’s other Cold War base took a different path. The Minot AFB has retained its primary mission of nuclear deterrence. This is after too many falsely believed we could reap the post-Cold War peace dividend and underfund our nuclear capabilities. But Minot AFB and the surrounding communities have supported this mission and the Airmen, successfully underpinning the nuclear umbrella that keeps the free world safe. The current nuclear modernization plan is proof our nation has finally realized what Minot has always known ?? the threat never went away and is now growing.

While Grand Forks and Minot mastered the strategic levels of war, the Airmen of our Happy Hooligans in Fargo were mastering tactical warfare with a small cadre of experts and cutting edge MQ-9s. The boundaries they pushed brought praise from conventional and special operations forces around the world, and even a tweet from a President. Their success convinced defense leaders the MQ-9 could be used for much more than just tactical missions, and the Hooligans proved to the community it does not need manned aircraft like F-16s or C-21s to contribute to our nation’s defense.

A lesser-known defense unit in North Dakota encompasses these characteristics of evolution, steadfastness, and outsized effect with small numbers. Cavalier Space Force Station was intended to be one of many northern tier Early Warning Radar (EWR) sites. Its Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization System was the only one to survive treaties and the end of the Cold War by evolving from an EWR mission to one that tracks objects in space. Run by some three dozen Guardians and security forces Airmen, Cavalier’s outsized effect on national defense will be relevant for years to come.

Civilian assets contribute to this ecosystem as well, and there is no better example than in Grand Forks. The county has created Grand Sky, a commercial Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) business and aviation park on land leased from the Air Force with joint access to the Base’s runway. Grand Sky has landed several large defense companies who came because of runway access and UAS-friendly airspace created through the Northern Plains UAS Test Site which was funded by the state.

Grand Forks attracted the Test Resource Management Center (TRMC), a Defense Department organization repurposing older Global Hawks to track hypersonic aircraft and missile tests. Likewise, the University of North Dakota (UND) has defense experts like President Andrew Armacost, the former Air Force Academy Dean, who has created and grown several national security research programs. Patriotic North Dakota citizens contribute as well, like Mark and Claudia Thompson, who just endowed a Faculty Fellowship in National Security at UND.

Buried in the complexity of these individual resources is the interconnection that makes this a true ecosystem. The Cavalier mission feeds critical information to missiles and bombers in Minot, but also protects satellites operated from Grand Forks. Those satellites will communicate with a Fargo UAS and track nuclear threats for Minot. A UAS in Grand Forks can feed enemy information to Minot’s bombers or Fargo’s MQ-9s, as well as enemy information to foreign MQ-9s whose pilots were trained at Grand Sky. Through it all, UND is teaching the next generation of UAS experts to operate in places our Defense Department has yet to identify.

This all happens in North Dakota. Our ecosystem is robust and growing and it must not slow down. The United States cashed in at the end of the Cold War while our enemies, including Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran have been investing heavily in leveling the playing field for war. North Dakota’s defense ecosystem is a crucial part of never letting our enemies achieve that goal.