Air Force officials working the “hot bench” of the Global Cyberspace Integration Center at Langley AFB, Va., were busy all last month with time sensitive targeting, coalition building, precision engagement, machine-to-machine interfaces, and net-centricity, reports Capt. Larry van der Oord. The GCIC hot bench members assess software and information systems before they are sent to the field. During the cross-service exercise, the GCIC employed the Air Force Integrated Collaborative Environment to provide air tasking orders, airspace coordination orders, and more. They also worked on developing the war plan warfighter forwarder initiative, for which the final proof of concept is set for August during the main exercise portion of Integral Fire.
A new Air Force plan for how many fighters it needs in the next decade marks a sharp upturn from what it thought it needed just seven years ago. But analysts worry that the aspirational plan now in Congress' hands doesn’t make a tight enough connection to national strategy.
