How DOD’s Old Concrete Infrastructure Could Start to Fix Itself

How DOD’s Old Concrete Infrastructure Could Start to Fix Itself

March 21, 2022 | By Amanda Miller

The military’s old concrete will repair its own cracks if researchers can pull off what the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency hopes under its new BRACE program. DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office announced the four-and-a-half-year BRACE research program—short for Bio-inspired Restoration of Aged Concrete Edifices—March 17.

Companies and research institutions have until April 8 to register for a Proposers Day informational event scheduled for April 13. A Broad Agency Announcement for BRACE should be published “in the coming weeks,” the agency said in a statement. 

Citing the Defense Department’s concrete airfields and missile silos, the agency acknowledged in the statement that “maintaining and repairing concrete is of increasing strategic importance to both defense and civilian infrastructure.” 

Surface treatments for repairing cracks are “short-lived and do not address the underlying causes of decay,” so DARPA wants to figure out how concrete can repair itself from within by adding a vascular system, inspired by the arteries and veins in biological organisms, to transport “healing substances” through the concrete, according to the release.

DOD also needs new approaches to quickly repair airfields after attacks, DARPA said in a pdf describing the Proposers Day event: “Rapid patching of craters is the current repair strategy to repair runway surfaces after an attack,” according to the pdf. “New approaches are needed that will work with DOD’s Expedient and Expeditionary Airfield Damage Repair (E-ADR) capability to restore airfield operations with a minimal logistical footprint.”

New research already suggests that “cross-disciplinary technologies” can impart “self-healing capabilities” to old concrete, according to the statement. The Proposers Day will include cross-disciplinary teaming opportunities.

If successful, BRACE will “prevent new damage, shorten repair time, and reduce maintenance costs, allowing for extended infrastructure service life,” said BRACE program manager Matthew J. Pava in the statement. 

“Today’s DOD has inherited, and relies upon, a significant amount of concrete infrastructure from the 1940s and 1950s that cannot be easily replaced,” Pava said.

Research will take place in two technical areas. The first will involve figuring out how to impart existing concrete with vascular systems—which in addition to transporting the healing substances should involve some self-monitoring so people will be able to know the systems are working down deep in the concrete. The second technical area will involve practical ways to put the systems into the concrete and how to maintain and repair them.

“While BRACE is focused on DOD applications, our hope is that the technologies generated will have potential civilian benefits as well,” Pava said in the statement.

Pentagon Announces Classified JADC2 Implementation Plan, Unclassified Strategy

Pentagon Announces Classified JADC2 Implementation Plan, Unclassified Strategy

March 21, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

More than eight months after Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III signed off on the Defense Department’s strategy for joint all-domain command and control, the Pentagon has an implementation plan for that strategy—and an unclassified version of the strategy for the public to see.

On March 15, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks signed the JADC2 implementation plan, which “details the plans of actions, milestones, and resourcing requirements” and “identifies the organizations responsible for delivering JADC2 capabilities” necessary for the DOD’s ambitious effort to connect sensors and shooters from every domain into one massive network.

“We must maintain continued focus and momentum on these initiatives and programs, which enhance department capabilities to face current and future threats,” Hicks said in a press release. “Command and control in an increasingly information-focused warfighting environment have never been more critical. JADC2 will enable the DOD to act at the speed of relevance to improve U.S. national security. JADC2 is delivering capabilities beginning now, and it will continue to be funded in the coming years.”

The implementation plan is classified, but USMC Lt. Gen. Dennis A. Crall, the Joint Staff’s chief information officer, told reporters in a Pentagon briefing on March 18 that it is “the delivery mechanism, the how we’re going to get there, who’s responsible, what order do you put these in, what are the prerequisites to make sure that you have an actionable plan that can be executed, and finally those milestones which include funding.

“If those are absent, what you end up with is a really neat story, a grand idea, but really nothing that comes off the conveyor belt at the other end,” Crall said. “And this is what the … [implementation] plan actually does for us, it takes a look very clearly at specific and prioritized plans.”

Those plans remain classified for several reasons, Crall added, including the need not to identify where “you prioritize against vulnerabilities and threats,” and the desire to not release milestones and timelines for contracts that have yet to be awarded.

The full strategy document also remains classified, but the unclassified eight-page summary establishes three overarching functions—sense, make sense, and act.

The “sense” function in JADC2 is defined by the “implementation of advanced sensing methods and information management technologies” to gather data that can be shared broadly across the Joint Force and with allies and partners.

The “make sense” function requires artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other technologies to “extract, consolidate, and process massive amounts of data and information directly from the sensing infrastructure,” providing information to commanders.

The “act” function requires information-sharing, open and resilient communications, and training to ensure lower-level commanders can make decisions when needed.

In order to achieve those functions, the strategy summary identifies five main lines of effort the Pentagon will pursue in making JADC2 a reality:

  • Establish the JADC2 Data Enterprise
  • Establish the JADC2 Human Enterprise
  • Establish the JADC2 Technical Enterprise
  • Integrate Nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) with JADC2
  • Modernize Mission Partner Information Sharing

In establishing the various enterprises to make the JADC2 approach work, the strategy calls for resilient, cybersecure networks that use standardized interfaces and are operated by service members who have received the updated training and professional development necessary to work with AI and other technologies across the Joint Force.

That final point might be the most important, Crall said in his press briefing.

“I am confident that we will solve the technical pieces of JADC2. There is a way to do this. I also believe that process and policy, under the right pressures, will form around the needs of the department and we will find ways to do things in an efficient and safe way,” Crall said.

“I am less optimistic on the people side if we don’t take some pretty strong action. It’s really the people that are our strongest asset, and … really as a department, as a government, even beyond DOD, while there is value with our people, we don’t really have the best roadmap. We don’t really know what it means to recruit the right market. We don’t really know what it means to train and develop the kind of workforce we need not only today, but in the future.”

What gives Crall some optimism, he added, is that leaders recognized the importance of the human issue and included it as a line of effort.

“There’s clearly the right amount of attention to this. But we haven’t cashed that check yet,” he said.

Details about how NC3 and JADC2 can be integrated were not revealed, but U.S. Strategic Command boss Adm. Charles “Chas” A. Richard has told Congress that he is “very pleased that a subset of what JADC2 is doing is for nuclear command and control.”

National Champions Crowned at AFA’s CyberPatriot XIV

National Champions Crowned at AFA’s CyberPatriot XIV

March 21, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

Teams from North Carolina to California gathered March 18-20 in Rockville, Md., to compete in the national finals of the Air Force Association’s National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, CyberPatriot XIV.

The culmination of months of training and competition, the finals featured 28 teams competing across three divisions—Open, All Services, and Middle School. The competition began in October 2021 with more than 5,000 teams. The field steadily winnowed down through rounds in which teams were given a set of virtual operating systems and tasked with finding and fixing cybersecurity vulnerabilities while maintaining critical services.

“The competitive and creative spirit of these young people, not to mention their incredible technical acumen, is awe inspiring,” said AFA President and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Bruce “Orville” Wright. “Cyber warfare is today what air warfare was a century ago—a new kind of combat in a new domain. These kids—champions and finalists alike—are developing the skills our nation will need to protect our way of life from bad actors seeking to infiltrate every sector of American life, from business to government.”  

In the end, teams from San Diego completed a clean sweep of the national titles: CyberAegis Flashpoint ​from Del Norte High School claimed the Open Division championship; Terabyte Falcons ​from Scripps Ranch High School Air Force JROTC won the All Services Division; and CyberAegis Cobra from Design 39 Campus won the Middle School event.

This marks the third consecutive national championship team from Del Norte High School in the Open division, while Scripps Ranch High School’s Air Force JROTC previously won the All Services division at CyberPatriot XI in 2019. 

In the final round, each team served as administrators for a small business, working to “find and fix cybersecurity vulnerabilities, maintain critical services, resolve injects, and defend against hostile Red Team attackers.”

“You may not realize how significant this is today, but one day this will be very significant,” Air Force Chief Information Officer Lauren Barrett Knausenberger told the finalists at the weekend’s award ceremony. “Your hobby and your passion that you have displayed this week—and really, you’ve been at this for a while—it is something that our nation very much needs. Whether you’re going to serve in the military, whether you are going to work for a corporation, we need this in our country.”

Also at the award ceremony, AFA recognized eight competitors who had reached the finals of the competition for four years in a row as CyberPatriot Cyber All-Americans:

  • Emily Foreman from U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps Sacramento Division
  • Kevin Hu from Del Norte High School
  • Emily Kelso from U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps Sacramento Division
  • ​Darius Kianersi from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
  • Tristan Lee from Army JROTC from Roosevelt High School
  • Darin Mao from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
  • Tanay Shah from Del Norte High School
  • William Smith from U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps Sacramento Division

Open Division

  • National champion: CyberAegis Flashpoint ​from Del Norte High School (San Diego, Calif.)
  • Runner-up: Half Dome from Franklin High School (Elk Grove, Calif.)
  • Third place: TN Patriot | KaliPatriot ​from Cookeville High School (Cookeville, Tenn.)

All Services Division

  • National champion: Terabyte Falcons ​from Scripps Ranch High School Air Force JROTC (San Diego, Calif.)
  • Runner-up: Runtime Terror from Troy High School Navy JROTC (Fullerton, Calif.)
  • Third place: The Lockouts from Air Academy Cadet Squadron-CAP (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Middle School Division

  • National champion: CyberAegis Cobra from Design 39 Campus (San Diego, Calif.)
  • Runner-up:  CyberAegis Scimitar from Oak Valley Middle School (San Diego, Calif.)
  • Third place: The Chunk Marios from Lawler Middle School (Frisco, Texas)

AT&T Component Winner

  • Half Dome from Franklin High School (Elk Grove, Calif.)

Open Division Cisco Networking Challenge

  • 1st Place: CyberAegis Chopstick ​from Del Norte High School (San Diego, Calif.)
  • 2nd Place: Half Dome from Franklin High School (Elk Grove, Calif.)
  • 3rd Place: CyberAegis Flashpoint ​from Del Norte High School (San Diego, Calif.)

All Service Division Cisco Networking Challenge:

  • 1st Place: Terabyte Falcons ​ from Scripps Ranch High School Air Force JROTC (San Diego, Calif.)
  • 2nd Place: Runtime Terror from Troy High School Navy JROTC (Fullerton, Calif.)
  • 3rd Place: The Lockouts from Air Academy Cadet Squadron-CAP (Colorado Springs, Colo.)​

Middle School Division Cisco Networking Challenge Winner

  • CyberAegis Scimitar from Oak Valley Middle School (San Diego, Calif.)
Austin Tries to Budge Bulgaria Toward Lethal Support for Ukraine

Austin Tries to Budge Bulgaria Toward Lethal Support for Ukraine

March 18, 2022 | By Abraham Mahshie

Bulgaria is one of the Eastern European countries that possesses the S-300 air defense systems that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said are urgently needed to repel Russia’s air assault. The Black Sea NATO ally also has the same Soviet-era MiG-29 and Su-25 fighters used by the Ukrainian Air Force.

But Bulgaria also depends on Russian gas, and so far Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has refused lethal assistance to Ukraine and ruled out transferring its jets.

The delicate dynamic is what Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III faces in meetings in Bulgaria from March 18 to 19.

Austin landed at Bezmer Air Base near the Black Sea coast March 18 and was greeted by the Bulgarian defense minister and chief of defense before visiting with American troops. The U.S. maintained about 200 troops in Bulgaria before the arrival of a Stryker brigade from Germany. Austin was expected to hold meetings with his Bulgarian counterpart and to meet with Petkov just as Russia expanded its cruise missile attacks on the once-safe western part of Ukraine.

“In the West, reports of missile strikes in the vicinity of Lviv International Airport appear to be accurate,” a senior defense official told reporters in a statement.

Russia began striking air bases and a military training center in western Ukraine on March 11.

The Pentagon assesses that Russia remains “largely stalled across the country” but has effectively isolated major cities, including Chernihiv and Mariupol, which have suffered humanitarian disasters amid indiscriminate bombing and shelling of civilian targets.

Russia has launched more than 1,080 missiles since the start of the war.

In a March 16 address to the U.S. Congress, Zelensky specifically asked for help acquiring S-300 missile defense systems and fighter jets. Getting those from Bulgaria will be a tough sell, a Bulgarian defense official told Air Force Magazine.

“The official position of the government is no military support, just humanitarian,” the official said. “But let’s see what’s going on in the next couple of days or weeks.”

Petkov began his term in office in December 2021. An anti-corruption crusader who founded his own party, he took office only after forming a delicate coalition government whose factions include a party sympathetic to ties with Russia.

“He’s quite keen to rely on NATO partners and NATO allies,” the official said. “But at the same time … the question is political because we have a coalition government.”

In October 2020, Bulgaria and the U.S. signed a 10-year roadmap to deepen defense ties and improve Bulgaria’s military readiness and capabilities. In the past five years, the U.S. has provided more than $160 million in security assistance to Bulgaria. Bulgaria has also purchased eight F-16s, but a recent Lockheed Martin production delay could mean Bulgaria’s air modernization may not happen until 2025.

Petkov has previously said Bulgaria doesn’t have enough combat aircraft to defend its own territory. On March 17, after a meeting with Austin, Slovakia’s Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said his country would be willing to give up its S-300 and MiG-29s if replacements were provided.

To reassure NATO eastern flank allies, the U.S. moved two Patriot missile batteries from Germany to Poland, and the Netherlands repositioned a Patriot battery to Slovakia. Likewise, Bulgaria’s neighbor, Romania, possesses a Patriot battery, and NATO member Turkey has the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system.

The Bulgarian official said “it makes sense” that the missile defense capacity of both NATO ally neighbors could cover Bulgaria’s own small territory.

But Bulgaria has also been besieged by hybrid warfare and espionage threats from Russia. On March 18, Bulgaria expelled 10 Russian diplomats. A week prior, two Russian diplomats were expelled.

“It means something is going on,” the official said.

Meanwhile, supply routes from multiple Eastern European NATO allies continue to flow defense assistance into Ukraine, and the Pentagon assesses that the air space over Ukraine remains contested.

“The Ukrainian Air Force is continuing to fly aircraft and employ air and missile defense,” the senior defense official said.

Whether Ukraine receives the air defense systems it requires to keep its air space contested, or better protect civilian populations, may depend on the success of Austin’s latest European swing.

Lockheed Martin Aero Sees Growth Opportunities in Manned-Unmanned Teaming

Lockheed Martin Aero Sees Growth Opportunities in Manned-Unmanned Teaming

March 18, 2022 | By John A. Tirpak

Lockheed Martin sees itself well positioned to pursue the Air Force’s new uncrewed aircraft programs to complement both the tactical and strategic bomber fleets, having conducted experiments in manned-unmanned teaming for more than 17 years, company aeronautics executive vice president Greg Ulmer said.

Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs, or Skunk Works, has been putting “a lot of attention … on manned-unmanned teaming,” or MUM-T, Ulmer said in an early March interview.

“It really is going to be a family of systems,” and Lockheed Martin’s F-35 will likely play a central role, he said.

“We have done a lot of operational analysis in support” of the MUM-T concept with the F-35, he said. The company sees the uncrewed aircraft as “extending the range of an F-35 … beyond the F 35, in front of the F-35 … improving the survivability, enhancing the sensors” of that aircraft.

“Taking that information, and putting it in the fusion engine of an F-35, I think, is very impactful” from an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance perspective for the entire force, he said. “It enables the capabilities of everything around it,” he added.

Ulmer said Skunk Works has done “quite a bit of work from a MUM-T perspective” on both recoverable and attritable aircraft working in concert with the current manned combat aircraft fleet, having done “a lot of demonstrations” since 2005.

The Air Force has branded its fighter force structure through the early 2030s—the F-22 transitioning to the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) aircraft, F-35, F-15EX, F-16, and the A-10—as the “4+1” plan, and Ulmer said he thinks the unmanned systems are “additive” to that mix and constitute a “4+1+1 … if you will,” he said.

“We’re focused on autonomy, artificial intelligence,” he said. The uncrewed aircraft will “have its own capability set,” and the pilot will be able to direct it to go off and conduct a side mission to assist the flight with the overall objective; either reconnoitering an area, or perhaps suppressing air defenses.

The pilot “provides a high level task, and then … the MUM-T vehicle will perform that task and then provide that information.” The F-35 pilot would not be directly controlling the vehicle; it would accomplish the mission on its own, following parameters previously set for it.

“It has the autonomous capability to do the mission set on its own accord,” he said.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said at the AFA Warfare Symposium earlier this month that he expects an F-35 or similar platform would direct as many as five unmanned aircraft flying in concert with it. Kendall couched the new tactical unmanned system as both enhancing the capabilities of manned platforms and expanding the capacity of the force, providing numbers in a battlespace where the Air Force expects it will take losses.  

Pacific Air Forces commander Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said March 14 that he thinks USAF’s manned aircraft should be designed as “exquisite” platforms with high capability, while the unmanned systems that accompany them should be designed to be acquired at a cost low enough that their loss would be bearable. Kendall said that for the right mission and target, the escort aircraft might be sent on one-way missions.

Lockheed Martin has discussed a number of stealthy, unmanned aircraft it has flown over the last 20 years, and it built the Air Force’s still largely-secret RQ-170 unmanned reconnaissance drone. Ulmer said this experience will be a discriminator for the company as the Air Force explores this new class of aircraft. 

Ulmer noted that Lockheed Martin has done a number of demonstrations “relative to the human interface” on how the pilot would direct a “loyal wingman”-type aircraft and how the information captured would be displayed to the pilot and made available for other aircraft in the formation and in the broader task force to make use of it. Last year, the company linked five F-35s, an F-22, and a U-2 in its “Project Hydra” demonstration, in which the various aircraft obtained and shared tactical information for all to use.

“These are really kind of stepping stones, where we work the elements as we approach MUM-T,” he said.

Lockheed Martin divisions such as Sikorsky Rotary systems—which recently flew an unmanned Blackhawk helicopter—as well as Missiles and Fire Control, Aeronautics, and Space—have been pooling their expertise to develop aircraft autonomy and the sharing capabilities needed to make MUM-T work, Ulmer said.

Although the Air Force has said it plans to phase out the F-22 starting in 2030, Ulmer said he expects the F-22 to serve beyond that point.

“I know the time horizon associated with an NGAD,” he said, but the timing of its arrival isn’t firm yet, and the F-22 will be needed until the NGAD is available.

“It’s understood … that the F-22 is in that equation” of the 4+1, he said. “It remains to be seen what the time horizon will be for NGAD. So the F-22 is going to be in play for the foreseeable future. And to me, that’s a decade-plus.”

Ulmer said he has not been told the F-22’s primary mission will change as the NGAD comes online, from air superiority to, perhaps, stealthy ground attack.

“To my understanding, for the foreseeable future, it is still the air superiority platform,” he said.

New Head Skunk for Lockheed Martin

New Head Skunk for Lockheed Martin

March 18, 2022 | By John A. Tirpak

John Clark, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics vice president for engineering and technology, will take over the company’s Advanced Development Programs division, or “Skunk Works,” on April 4, the company announced.

Clark, a 23-year employee of Lockheed, succeeds Jeff Babione, who has headed Skunk Works since 2016, and is retiring.

Clark supervised 8,000 engineers and worked on “technical concepts for products and processes” in his previous position. He was also Skunk Works’ vice president of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and unmanned aircraft, which Lockheed aeronautics executive vice president Greg Ulmer said will be a major push for the company in the coming years.

In this role, Clark “focused on the modernization and sustainment” of ISR and unmanned platforms, such as the U-2 and secret RQ-170, as well as battle management and command and control.

Babione oversaw significant increases in the Skunk Works portfolio and workforce, as well as a modern expansion of the unit’s factories and facilities in Palmdale, Calif. Babione had previously served as chief engineer on the F-22 program—which received the Collier Trophy—as program manager for the F-35 and supervisor of Lockheed’s fighter portfolio, including the F-16, F-22, T-50 and F-2. He previously worked on the YF-22 concept demonstrator as an employee of Boeing.

Aviano F-16 Fighters Deploy to Croatia After Drone Crash

Aviano F-16 Fighters Deploy to Croatia After Drone Crash

March 18, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

A pair of F-16s deployed from Aviano Air Base, Italy, to Croatia on March 16, taking part in agile combat employment exercises and bolstering NATO’s southeastern flank, the Air Force announced.

The F-16 fighters’ arrival comes just a few days after a military drone crashed in the Croatian capital of Zagreb amid nearby war between Russia and Ukraine. Croatian officials say the drone had a bomb, but they have not determined whether it was Russian or Ukrainian. The incident has led Croatian leaders to criticize NATO for a perceived slow response.

On March 15, Newsweek reported that Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in a press conference that the U.S. would send the F-16s to “give support of Croatia’s security.”

A subsequent press release from U.S. Air Forces in Europe stated that the fighters would deploy to Croatia’s 91st Air Base at Pleso, just outside the capital.

“Our enduring alliances and partnerships throughout the European and African theaters have enabled our multi-capable Airmen to execute our mission as a dynamic coalition force,” Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, USAFE-Air Forces Africa commander, said in a statement. “Directing our strategic capabilities from any number of forward locations builds a resilient force, ready to pivot and counter aggression anywhere at a moment’s notice.”

This marks just the latest deployment of fighters to Eastern Europe. In the lead-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, F-16s deployed to Romania, F-15s went to Poland, and F-35s landed in Germany. As the invasion first unfolded, F-35s from Germany were deployed to NATO’s eastern flank, including Romania. A B-52 also deployed to the region around the same time, as part of what USAFE called a “long-planned Bomber Task Force Europe mission over the Arctic and Baltic Sea regions.”

While President Joe Biden has repeatedly said the U.S. will not deploy forces into Ukraine to help them resist the Russian invasion, he has pledged to defend “every inch” of NATO territory. Croatia became a full NATO member in 2009.

Traditional ISR Aircraft Still Have ‘Value,’ Pentagon Intelligence Officials Say

Traditional ISR Aircraft Still Have ‘Value,’ Pentagon Intelligence Officials Say

March 18, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

The Air Force has pushed to revamp its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations in recent years, focusing on new capabilities such as space-based ISR and next-generation platforms capable of multiple roles and penetrating contested airspace.

Yet there still might be a role for older, legacy platforms to play in the ISR of the future, top Pentagon intelligence officials said March 17.

Those assurances from U.S. Cyber Command boss Gen. Paul M. Nakasone and Defense Intelligence Agency director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier came under questioning from Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who focused particularly on the RC-135 as an airframe with more to offer the Air Force.

Bacon has more insight than most lawmakers into ISR. He flew both the EC-130H and RC-135 S/V/W for the Air Force, served as commander of the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base in his state, and worked as director of ISR strategy, plans, doctrine, and force development.

And during a hearing before the House Armed Services intelligence and special operations subcommittee, Bacon took the opportunity to press Nakasone and Berrier on the usefulness of the RC-135, which has been flying since the 1970s.

“I flew in the RC-135s, you know, traditional ISR aircraft,” Bacon said. “There’s a push among some to go to all fifth-gen type of collection, capabilities, and penetrating ISR. But we know day in and day out, we do not penetrate China’s airspace, and we don’t penetrate Russia’s airspace. Right? So we still need some of that traditional ISR, because that’s what’s the bulk of our collection. So I guess my question is, are we keeping the right balance between the traditional ISR and penetrating ISR? And do you see a need to maintain some of these older platforms?”

Neither Nakasone nor Berrier offered any firm assurances on the RC-135 or other platforms. But they both expressed support for a broad range of ISR capabilities.

“With my Army hat on, coming out of the G2 job, there’s this balance between ISR in competition and ISR in conflict,” Berrier said. “And certainly, as we’re seeing this play out inside Ukraine, we would never fly those platforms into an envelope where they could get shot down or engaged. But certainly in competition, I think there is value for ISR platforms that can collect on the periphery and actually analyze and process that information.”

While ISR aircraft have been limited in where they can go since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, those aircraft were in constant use in the lead-up to the invasion—flight trackers noted an E-8C JSTARS, an RC-135V and others flying in the region, presumably gathering intelligence. 

What exactly that means for the future of the fleet remains to be seen, but Nakasone said the there will be a need for airborne ISR to complement future capabilities.

“I would offer as the SIGINT functional manager for the defense intelligence establishment here, we need to have a variety of platforms, whether or not they’re from space, whether or not they’re airborne, whether or not they’re terrestrial,” Nakasone said—”all of these, obviously stitched together for a very, very complex and very, very important look on what our adversaries are doing in many parts of the world. So I know the Chief of Staff of the Air Force is looking at a number of different platforms. But you know, from my perspective, having a wide variety of these platforms is really important for us to do our mission.”

Biden Administration Considers Splitting NSA, CYBERCOM

Biden Administration Considers Splitting NSA, CYBERCOM

March 18, 2022 | By Greg Hadley

President Joe Biden’s administration and the Defense Department are looking at the possibility of splitting up control of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, reviving a long-running debate over how the two organizations are led.

Since the stand-up of CYBERCOM in 2009, its commander has functioned in a dual-hat role as the director of the NSA, an arrangement meant to help the new combatant command get off the ground. Gen. Paul M. Nakasone currently holds both titles.

For years now, lawmakers, analysts, and DOD officials have debated when or even if to separate the two positions. In December 2020, then-President Donald Trump’s administration delivered a proposal to split the leadership roles, only for the plan to be rejected as officials said CYBERCOM had not met the conditions to do so required by law, according to The Washington Post.

The issue came up again March 17 in a hearing before the House Armed Services intelligence and special operations subcommittee, as Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) asked Ronald S. Moultrie, undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security, for his view on the potential change.

“I would say that from a Department of Defense perspective, we certainly recognize the value of the dual-hat role that Gen. Nakasone has played for the last four years and the role of Cyber Command and NSA over the last 12 years plus,” Moultrie said. 

“I believe that the dual hat will be looked at again, just by this administration, just to ensure that we understand what the value added is, but also what the impacts are. And so that discussion is still ongoing within the department today. We understand that there’s a sentiment on both sides to really not do any harm. But I believe that it will be looked at. I think it’ll be an objective look, and we’ll make sure we reach out to you, sir.”

Nakasone, for his part, called the proposed shift a “policy discussion” but acknowledged “that is still something that is being considered.” 

Having held his position for nearly four years, though, Nakasone did continue to endorse the dual-hat arrangement from an operational perspective.

“My best military advice, as it was when I first came in the job and after three-plus years in it, is the fact that through elections, through problems with Iran, through ransomware, and now with Russia-Ukraine, what the dual hat has allowed us to do has been able to take and be able to focus efforts from the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command on very, very difficult problems: influence, ransomware, strategic competition in one domain—in cyberspace,” Nakasone said. “We both operate there, and being able to have action, being able to have unity of effort, and being able to have agility is what the dual hat has been able to allow me to do over the past three-plus years.”

Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) called Nakasone’s comments “a pretty good endorsement to me,” and Bacon, a former Air Force ISR commander, also strongly urged his colleagues to oppose changes to the current arrangement.

“These cyber teams—the core of them are NSA folks. So if you have two four-stars with different visions and different direction, I don’t see how you keep a unified direction for the cyber team,” said Bacon, who served in the Pentagon as director of ISR strategy, plans, doctrine and force development for the Air Force. “But that’s just my two cents being down at the O-5, O-6, O-7 level when I was in. I like the way it’s set up now.”