ASSOCIATION OF THE US ARMY: After 30 years of trying, the head of Strategic Command believes the time and technology are finally ripe for satellites to track both ballistic missiles and emerging threats such as hypersonics. “I’ll talk about it with Congress over the next couple of weeks,” Gen. John Hyten told reporters here at…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON: The US Army is rushing to stand up cyber forces but its progress shows both how far we’ve come, and how far we have to go. “From an initial start of six officers in 2014… today we have 397 officers, 141 warrant officers, and 560 non-commissioned officers and soldiers” in the Army’s recently created cyber…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.ARLINGTON: The Army is reinforcing its combat brigades with cyber soldiers. In 18 months of wargames with a wide range of units — tanks, Strykers, infantry, Airborne, Rangers — Army Cyber Command troops have brought hacking and jamming to bear on the (simulated) battlefield alongside guns and bombs. The exercises have already revealed cybersecurity shortfalls…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON: DC’s biggest defense conference just stopped getting smaller. The Association of the US Army’s annual meeting is a cultural touchstone for the largest service and a leading indicator for the health of the defense industry. Like the Pentagon budget, AUSA attendance peaked during the troop surge in 2010, then shrank rapidly with the drawdowns,…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.