If the Pentagon was asked to relocate its air bases, radar stations, missile silos, and other facilities to make room for wind farm developers, Congress would reject the idea out of hand. Such a massive disruption would threaten our national security and cost taxpayers untold billions of dollars — all to benefit a few.

Yet effectively the same debate is taking place over another kind of real estate: the radio spectrum bands set aside to carry the military’s wireless transmissions, including the frequencies needed and used today and in the future for radar, targeting, and command-and-control systems, and potentially for envisioned systems like hypersonic and ballistic missile defense.

Some in industry are again seeking to gain exclusive control over additional portions of the spectrum, including those used by the military, through spectrum auctions. Some in Congress are taking the proposal seriously.

At the center of the debate is a slice of spectrum the military cannot plausibly replace: the mid-band frequencies between 3.1 and 3.5 GHz that offer the ideal mix of range and capacity for defense applications.  For example, the Navy’s Aegis AN/SPY radar operates in this band. That is one reason defense champions in Congress have repeatedly raised concerns about the security threat posed by efforts to sell off these critically important segments of military spectrum.