HONOLULU, — Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), has warned that traditional military communication networks could fail within 48 hours of a conflict on the Korean Peninsula if they rely on uninterrupted satellite communications, unlimited bandwidth and fiber-optic infrastructure.
Speaking at the AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific 2026 conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, on October 27, Brunson described the peninsula as one of the world's most heavily contested electromagnetic environments, where U.S. and allied forces face daily electronic attacks.
“Our adversaries practice electronic attack daily. They jam GPS in the West Sea. They attempt to blind our servers, our sensors, and our networks,” Brunson said.
He highlighted the threat from North Korea, which considers South Korea its principal enemy, and noted that China also possesses advanced electronic attack capabilities in the region.
U.S. Military Develops Resilient Communication Networks
Brunson said communication systems dependent on uninterrupted satellite links, unlimited bandwidth and fiber-optic connections would not survive 48 hours on the peninsula during a conflict.
To address these vulnerabilities, the U.S. military is deploying proliferated low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite networks, high-frequency (HF) radio systems and terrestrial mesh networks. The layered approach is designed to maintain command and control when primary communication links are jammed or disrupted.
He stressed that information must move at the “speed of relevance,” measured in milliseconds rather than minutes or hours, leaving no 10-minute buffer to troubleshoot communication failures during a crisis.
Data-Centric Security and Faster Information Sharing
Brunson called for a shift from network-centric security to data-centric security, explaining that military systems must “tag the payload and not the pipe.”
Under this approach, information from allied sensors can be verified and shared across combined networks without creating new secure communication pathways for every exchange. Brunson said a South Korean radar detecting an incoming missile should have its track verified and transmitted to a coalition fires network within milliseconds.
He also called for lightweight, jam-resistant waveforms with low probability of intercept (LPI) and low probability of detection (LPD), open application programming interfaces (APIs), and edge sensors that integrate with joint mission networks without vendor lock-in.
Defense Industry Urged to Design for Combined Operations
Brunson urged defense technology companies to visit the Korean Peninsula to understand its operational environment. He stressed that systems must be designed for combined U.S. and allied operations from the beginning rather than adding partner interfaces after contracts are signed.
“We can no longer design exquisite systems for pure US enclaves and then try to bolt on partner interface after the contract is signed. We must design combined from the first line of code,” he said.
Addressing artificial intelligence and decision-making, Brunson said adversaries are counting on bureaucratic policies, classification silos and proprietary architectures to slow down U.S. and allied forces. The command seeks to accelerate the kill chain, improve decision-making and keep humans involved in military operations.
He also compared defense innovation with Vlasic pickles, explaining that the company recognised the need for sliced pickles that fit on burgers rather than selling only whole pickles. Brunson challenged defense companies to develop their own “sliced pickle” technologies designed for the demanding conditions of the battlefield.
The remarks highlight the growing importance of electronic warfare, jam-resistant communications and resilient command-and-control networks in the Indo-Pacific, where maintaining reliable information exchange has become a daily operational requirement.
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