The Gray Rhino in space: US must update military requirements for satellite cyber defense

The Gray Rhino in space: US must update military requirements for satellite cyber defense
The Gray Rhino in space: US must update military requirements for satellite cyber defense

In this op-ed, former vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Sandy Winnefeld and former Air Force Materiel Command head Ellen Pawlikowski call for greater, more flexible cybersecurity options for space systems.

Air Force Electronic Warfare Push Gains Steam; C-5 Gets 3-D Printed Door Handles

Air Force Electronic Warfare Push Gains Steam; C-5 Gets 3-D Printed Door Handles
Air Force Electronic Warfare Push Gains Steam; C-5 Gets 3-D Printed Door Handles

We will probably never know much about it, but the Air Force’s top Electronic Warfare task force has completed its first scrub and should report to top service leaders in the next month or so.

What Really Mattered In 2017 (Our Top 10 List)

What Really Mattered In 2017 (Our Top 10 List)
What Really Mattered In 2017 (Our Top 10 List)

This is a list of the most important stories and opinion pieces we ran at Breaking Defense in 2017. It’s a bit like our coverage: freewheeling, often unexpected and, hopefully, poking at the spots where policymakers in the US, NATO, Australia, Japan, South Korea and our other treaty allies and partners need to look. We…

‘Rolling The Marble:’ BG Saltzman On Air Force’s Multi-Domain C2 System

‘Rolling The Marble:’ BG Saltzman On Air Force’s Multi-Domain C2 System
‘Rolling The Marble:’ BG Saltzman On Air Force’s Multi-Domain C2 System

PENTAGON: In his first interview, the man overseeing the Air Force’s attempt to build the first truly global command and control system says it will demand major changes to the US military. Multi-Domain Command & Control will demand changes to how America commands its troops around the world, to acquisition, to Air Force culture and…

MDC2: Air Force Works On Huge Command, Control System; Allies Key

MDC2: Air Force Works On Huge Command, Control System; Allies Key
MDC2: Air Force Works On Huge Command, Control System; Allies Key

ORLANDO: Want to defeat an enemy? Get inside his decision cycle. Hammer away at his forces, confuse his command, steal his intelligence. Sun Tzu said most of it ages ago, but it remains true today. The key to such success is, first, understanding what you and the enemy are doing and, second, communicating that understanding to…

Gen. Pawlikowski Unveils Key Air Force Planning Group: PCA, PEW, OA-X, MDC2!

Gen. Pawlikowski Unveils Key Air Force Planning Group: PCA, PEW, OA-X, MDC2!
Gen. Pawlikowski Unveils Key Air Force Planning Group: PCA, PEW, OA-X, MDC2!

ORLANDO:  A half-dozen people in the Air Force are helping to define the service’s as part of a major new approach to deciding what weapons to buy, known as Strategic Development Planning Experimentation. The effort is led by Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, the commander of Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson AFB. The first iteration of SDPE (as…

Air Force Leading Way To 3rd Offset: Bob Work

Air Force Leading Way To 3rd Offset: Bob Work
Air Force Leading Way To 3rd Offset: Bob Work

NATIONAL HARBOR: The Pentagon’s biggest advocate of artificial intelligence just spoke to the Air Force Association for over an hour — and he didn’t mention drones. When Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work talks about autonomy, he’s much less interested in killer robots than in command and control. The Air Force led the way on…

Lasers Vs. Drones: Directed Energy Summit Emphasizes The Achievable

Lasers Vs. Drones: Directed Energy Summit Emphasizes The Achievable
Lasers Vs. Drones: Directed Energy Summit Emphasizes The Achievable

WASHINGTON: When do laser weapons finally become real? The low-hanging fruit for a near-term application looks like it’s shooting down enemy drones before they can target US forces. Both the Army and Marines are testing vehicle-mounted “counter-UAS” (Unmanned Aerial System) lasers, while the Navy already has a bulkier model aboard the USS Ponce in the…

Air Force Targets Schedule Growth: SecAF

Air Force Targets Schedule Growth: SecAF
Air Force Targets Schedule Growth: SecAF

AFA CONFERENCE: After three years of bringing acquisition costs down but seeing schedule breaches grow and grow without any end in sight, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James announced today in her keynote speech at the premier US aerospace conference that schedule is now in the service’s sights. “Unfortunately, today it takes too long today…

Elon’s SpaceX Gets Certified For National Security Launches; Can You Say Disruption?

Elon’s SpaceX Gets Certified For National Security Launches; Can You Say Disruption?
Elon’s SpaceX Gets Certified For National Security Launches; Can You Say Disruption?

WASHINGTON: While few doubted it would happen, the news that Elon Musk’s scrappy, pushy and — yes — disruptive launch company SpaceX won certification from Space and Missile Systems Center carries enormous import for the international launch industry, for the Pentagon, the Air Force and the Intelligence Community. It’s not that Musk’s SpaceX is going…

US Commits $5B In NEW $$ To Countering Space Threats; HASC Protects It

US Commits $5B In NEW $$ To Countering Space Threats; HASC Protects It
US Commits $5B In NEW $$ To Countering Space Threats; HASC Protects It

UPDATED: HASC StratForces Moves To “Protect” Space Control; Designates Space An MFP WASHINGTON:  When the United States government writ large — the military and the Intelligence Community — thinks something is important enough to spend $5 billion in new money from existing sources that’s a strategic commitment and is worth paying very close attention to. The…

EXCLUSIVE Air Force Weapons Schedule Woes Worsen; Costs Dip $229M

EXCLUSIVE Air Force Weapons Schedule Woes Worsen; Costs Dip $229M
EXCLUSIVE Air Force Weapons Schedule Woes Worsen; Costs Dip $229M

  PENTAGON: For the third year in a row, Air Force weapon programs have busted their schedules, taking longer to field, this time adding another 112 months to the 29 major weapons programs that the service monitors. It’s a pattern. In 2012, schedule performance “continues to remain problematic and shows no signs of improvement.” In 2013,…

SpaceX Drops Federal Suit; Air Force Opens Launch Deals

SpaceX Drops Federal Suit; Air Force Opens Launch Deals
SpaceX Drops Federal Suit; Air Force Opens Launch Deals

WASHINGTON: SpaceX appears to have succeeded in cracking open the EELV program a bit in return for dropping its suit in the Court of Federal Claims against the Air Force. The agreement was announced by the Air Force and SpaceX after the stock market closed this afternoon. “The Air Force and SpaceX have reached agreement on a path forward…

Pawlikowski On Air Force Offset Strategy: F-35s Flying Drone Fleets

Pawlikowski On Air Force Offset Strategy: F-35s Flying Drone Fleets
Pawlikowski On Air Force Offset Strategy: F-35s Flying Drone Fleets

PENTAGON: Ellen Pawlikowski helps decide what weapons the Air Force buys and manages the buying process, so when the lieutenant general says she likes autonomy and 3-D printing as the most promising capabilities for her service to develop as part of the new offset strategy, it’s worth listening. “This is Ellen Pawlikowski speaking,” she says in…