C-5Ms, C-17 Continue to Airlift COVID-19 Aid to India

C-5Ms, C-17 Continue to Airlift COVID-19 Aid to India

May 3, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

Air Force airlift of aid to India continued in recent days, with three C-5Ms and one C-17 delivering COVID-19 testing kits, protective masks, and oxygen to the country.

The third aircraft was set to arrive May 3, with another set to arrive the next day, Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby said during a May 3 briefing.

“Once all four missions are complete, four aircraft will have delivered tons of very needed critical supplies,” he said.

U.S. Transportation Command said on Twitter that the deliveries included more than one million N95 masks, more than 440 oxygen cylinders, and more than 1 million rapid diagnostic test kits. The U.S. Agency for International Development in a May 1 statement said one of the flights also carried a Deployable Oxygen Concentration System, donated by the state of California.

Oxygen has been in dire need in India as the country faces a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak. The country on May 1 reported more than 400,000 new cases of COVID-19 for the first time, as the U.S. government announced it was taking steps to restrict travel from India, CNN reported. The aid flights to India began April 28. The Pentagon, through the Defense Logistics Agency and TRANSCOM, will “continue to assess” the need for additional aid going forward, Kirby said.

Space Force, SPACECOM Working on New Communication Strategy to Fight Overclassification

Space Force, SPACECOM Working on New Communication Strategy to Fight Overclassification

May 3, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

U.S. Space Command and the Space Force are working on new ways to openly discuss capabilities in orbit while ensuring the military can still deter adversaries who are improving their own capabilities there.

Top leaders of the Space Force, SPACECOM, and elsewhere in the Pentagon have repeatedly said the overclassification of space systems is problematic, especially in the area of deterrence. Maj. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt, the commander of SPACECOM’s Combined Force Space Component Command and deputy commander of Space Operations Command in the U.S. Space Force, said May 3 that the organizations are determining a new strategy for what can be announced publicly.

“If I can’t talk about what I have to hold your capabilities at risk, then I really can’t deter,” Burt said during an AFA Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Space Power Forum. “So, we’ve been working really hard on a conceal, reveal, obfuscate strategy. How are we going to talk about our capabilities? What are the things we’re willing to talk about? What are we not willing to talk about? And how will that then translate into our deterrence strategies and how we operate.”

Maj. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt, commander of U.S. Space Command’s Combined Force Space Component Command, and deputy commander of the Space Force’s Space Operations Command speaks with retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, dean of AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, during its virtual Space Power Forum series on May 3, 2021.

Historically, the way space systems are built has fed into this culture of overclassification, Burt said. For example, when a new aircraft comes online, the service buys a small number and takes them out to its test sites, “and we really wring them out. … [Then] we go back to the vendor and say, ‘Hey, this, this, and this doesn’t meet specs, and we need you to update them.’” The process will go through iterations until mass production starts. For space, however, that process is very different. A new constellation could include six aircraft. The first launches, enters orbit, and then gets tested, but it is still the first operational satellite for that constellation—it doesn’t return to the vendor to be updated, Burt said.

“Once you launch it, you own it. And you’re now working with those capabilities,” she said. “So sometimes I think we’ve overclassified because we believe that if I tell you about it, or you know too much about it, then you can defeat it quickly or you have a way to counter it.”

But with new space acquisition strategies and capabilities, such as common buses, digital payloads, and other ways to modernize both the satellite and the receiver, “we can actively respond as the enemy changes, to change the software on board to include crypto,” she said.

This means U.S. space-based capabilities will be more resilient and responsive, freeing up leaders to talk about it more “because … we have the ability to quickly upgrade the capabilities as the enemy gets a vote,” she said.

Data Security and Real-time Data Sharing Co-exist to Support ABMS

Data Security and Real-time Data Sharing Co-exist to Support ABMS

May 3, 2021

Driving the success of every mission is one key factor: knowledge. The quality, the quantity, and the immediacy of information can make the crucial difference in responses and outcomes. That’s the rationale behind the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS)—that more complete, timely information leads to better, faster decision making and that sharing vital data is crucial to the success of joint and multi-domain operations. But as cyber is now one of the most used threat vectors, balancing the need for access to data with the realities of the threat environment requires vigilance and agility.

In the first article of this three-part series, we looked at the obstacles to enterprise-wide, multi-domain data access and how Elastic enables near real-time answers from data wherever it is stored. Now, in part two, Elastic looks at the critical issues of security and how the ability to analyze data enterprise-wide can also support smarter responses to cyber threats.

The Perimeter is Always in Flux

The formerly well defined network perimeter has blurred. The Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) has grown the number of sensors exponentially and turned objects into endpoints, while mobile users frequently move in and out of secure areas, creating new challenges for secure connectivity.

Truly assessing the military’s cyber stance requires a holistic view of the complete environment, from the network core to the edge. Point solutions that can protect specific resources don’t recognize a crucial element — how attacks interact with each other. Does an event in one segment have implications for other resources? Are there patterns that could provide insight into other attacks? Can anomalies be identified and categorized quickly and accurately? And can users understand the nature of the issue fast enough and clearly enough to respond before damage is done?

By viewing all data across all sources, security-focused teams gain the ability to identify previously unseen connections. But doing so goes beyond securing IT systems alone.

OT Data is Crucial, Yet Vulnerable

Complicating security is that the lines between physical and virtual domains are blurring — kinetic actions can impact the digital domain and vice versa. Attacks on operational technology (OT) devices, such as aircraft, robots, sensor mesh, and IoBT instruments, use IT means.

The good news is that, even with the additional risk factors, there are opportunities to understand and defend against attacks. By analyzing OT data in relation to IT data, it becomes easier to spot vulnerabilities and mitigate potential threats before they affect systems, personnel and the mission itself. Again, the holistic approach is essential to comprehensive security.

Barriers to a Comprehensive View

If it makes sense to assess data from multiple sources to support both operations and security, why isn’t this approach widespread? There are three main obstacles, each of which affects the others.

First, there are technical considerations. In the past, some data lake attempts were not successful. They led to higher cost and complexity without enough benefit to justify the effort. Speed and scalability issues were significant and led to an inability to produce comprehensive answers in time to make a difference.

The policy aspect presents another challenge. Of course, compliance with standards is absolute. In addition, the issue of data ownership needs to be addressed to ensure that those with the responsibility to protect, maintain, and share data also have the authority to do so effectively.

Lastly, there is a cultural component to consider. There are legitimate concerns that not all data should be shared. This is partly a matter of whether access can be segmented by classification, but also due to a truism that too much data can cause more problems than it solves. But these are no longer issues, as it is now possible to enable both policy-driven segmentation and near-instant answers from across petabytes of data. The solution lies in an approach that combines data management with security and enterprise-wide visibility.

Complete Security Demands Complete Real-time Information

At its most basic, cyber defense requires identifying and defending against known attack signatures. The next step is to use machine learning to assess if suspicious activity resembles those known signatures to a degree, then alert users to those potential threats. To be effective, the security system needs both enterprise-wide data and a way to monitor activity across all interconnected systems—data management plus security plus visibility, all working together.

This is the model Elastic employs, for example, where its security and observability solutions coordinate to spot both bottlenecks and potential threats in near real-time. Since Elastic indexes data as it is ingested, answers and analyses can be delivered in seconds, which can contain a cyber attack before it spreads throughout the network.

Elastic’s holistic approach also assures system, application, and data owners that segmentation is possible, limiting access to those with a specific, legitimate need—enabling policy-driven access controls for a Zero Trust ecosystem that manages and protects data and the shared environment.

As a result, security teams can identify issues and respond faster and gain the insight needed to head off potential threats before they become active attack vectors. Alerts can be defined to include next steps, enabling personnel at all skill levels to understand events and take remedial action in the least amount of time.

Security as a Force Enabler

ABMS establishes data sharing as a standard that can create a common operational picture, but security naturally remains paramount. Cyber security can do more than protect assets from threats, even inadvertent ones. It can provide confidence that data is uncorrupted, provide easy access for those who need it, and keep users from creating more risk. In short, securing data must balance access with accountability.

The holistic approach, championed by Elastic, frees critical data from sharing constraints while maintaining high levels of access control and security—and is crucial to achieving mission velocity that allows our forces to outpace adversaries in both the physical and digital domains.

Seymour Johnson Receives USAF’s 45th KC-46

Seymour Johnson Receives USAF’s 45th KC-46

May 3, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The 916th Air Refueling Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, on April 30 received the Air Force’s 45th KC-46 Pegasus. Boeing had missed multiple deadlines to deliver the tanker in the weeks beforehand.

The KC-46, tail number 18-6055, brings the wing’s total fleet of KC-46s to six, the wing announced. The delivery—the first since early February—means the Air Force has accepted three of the aircraft so far this year.

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center told Air Force Magazine on April 13 that Boeing had not been able to “present aircraft in a delivery configuration to support planned/potential delivery dates for March and April” and said there was “moderate risk” for the April 30 delivery.

Boeing, in a statement, said it was “working to deliver KC-46 aircraft at a pace that meets the needs of the U.S. Air Force.”

Air Mobility Command said in February it had slowed the rate by which it would accept the aircraft because they are not yet fully operational and there is a lack of qualified crews to fly them. Meanwhile, the command announced that it would free up some KC-46s for limited operational missions as assigned by U.S. Transportation Command. TRANSCOM has said this could happen as soon as June.

USAF’s New Marketing Vehicles Include Mobile VR Exhibits, Tuskegee Airmen-Themed Race Cars

USAF’s New Marketing Vehicles Include Mobile VR Exhibits, Tuskegee Airmen-Themed Race Cars

May 2, 2021 | By Amanda Miller

The Air Force’s new marketing vehicles are hitting the road. Or track, as the case may be. 

The two new “experiential” recruiting exhibits are meant to leave more of an impression on prospective Air Force recruits than a TV commercial.

Meanwhile, having announced new diversity targets for recruitment in 2020, the Air Force also unveiled Tuskegee Airmen-themed paint schemes for two race cars in April. 

The new mobile exhibits build on the popularity of the Air Force Performance Lab, a 53-foot trailer that started touring in 2015, appearing at about 250 events a year such as festivals and air shows. Visitors have flown in a virtual-reality flight simulator, competed at pullups against and avatar, and tested their dexterity, situational awareness, logic, reasoning, and physical strength by tracking their performance with radio-frequency identification wristbands. 

“Experiential marketing allows us to showcase the brand in a more engaging, interactive way,” said Adrienne Strange, account director at the Air Force’s Austin, Texas-based ad agency GSD&M, in a press release. “TV ads are short, and people are distracted today,” she said. The trailers, on the other hand, engage recruit prospects for an average of 22 minutes per activity. The agency collects leads at the events for recruiters to follow up on. 

New for 2021 are the trailer exhibits Activate: Special Warfare, which debuted in April, and Enhanced Cognitive Human Ops, or ECHO. In the special-ops game, players are deployed Air Force Special Warfare troops in a firefight. They experience blasts of air, temperature changes, and movement in the environment in addition to visuals from VR headsets. Craftsmen Industries of Charles, Missouri, has built the trailers in-house, printed graphics and all. 

Also debuting this spring are the silver, red, and gold cars being driven by NASCAR’s Richard Petty Motorsports and IndyCar’s Ed Carpenter Racing. The paint scheme is inspired by the Black aviators’ P-51 Mustangs in World War II.

“The red tails, yellow stripes, and star emblem aren’t just a visual cue but a reminder [that] great things can happen when we celebrate our differences,” according to an Air Force news release. “It’s more than just a paint scheme; it’s an incredible opportunity to educate millions on the history behind the Red Tails.” Part of the Army Air Corps prior to the creation of the Air Force, the Alabama-based Tuskegee Airmen included pilots, navigators, maintainers, bombardiers, instructors, and support staff. 

The Air Force announced April 20 that the paint scheme would first appear in NASCAR’s 2021 Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Florida in April and its IndyCar premier at the Indianapolis 500 on May 30. 

The Air Force wants to better tailor its recruitment marketing to underrepresented populations. 

Air Force Recruiting Service Commander Maj. Gen. Edward W. Thomas Jr. announced in September 2020, during the Air Force Association’s virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference, that the recruiting service would start tracking its recruitment against “the qualified pool of potential recruits in the country.”  

Aquilino Assumes Command of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

Aquilino Assumes Command of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

April 30, 2021 | By Amy Hudson

Adm. John C. Aquilino assumed command of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command from Adm. Philip S. Davidson during an April 30 ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.

Aquilino, who relinquished command of U.S. Pacific Fleet earlier the same day, takes over as the Defense Department shifts its focus to great power competition after decades of counterterrorism operations. He now leads 380,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and DOD civilians in a combatant command that spans 36 nations and 14 time zones and includes 52 percent of the world’s population.

Davidson retired after four decades in uniform, the last three at the helm of INDOPACOM, and was the U.S. Navy’s longest serving surface warfare officer, said Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III during the ceremony.

“Under [Davidson’s] leadership, this command upheld the lawful use of the sea for all countries by executing more than 40 Freedom of Navigation Operations. This command conducted more than 20 major bilateral and multilateral joint exercises with our allies and partners. And this command did not flinch amid the huge operational challenges of the pandemic…” Austin said. He added, “You’ve always believed in something bigger than yourself, and you’ve put your life on the line to protect the country you love. And you’re leaving a legacy to be proud of.”

Austin also praised Aquilino, calling him “another exceptional leader” who has “amassed a strong record of excellence and courage.” A graduate of the Navy’s Top Gun school, Aquilino has flown the F-14 Tomcat, three variants of the F-18 Hornet, the F-16, and more.

“He’s commanded a squadron, a wing, and a strike group, which means he knows a thing or two about leading American forces into combat. And, as the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, he knows what it takes to lead in this theater, to reinforce our integrated deterrence in this pivotal period. Your new commander knows the stakes, he knows the people, and he knows the challenges. Admiral Aquilino, you are the right leader at the right time.”

Austin acknowledged he spent most of his career “executing the last of old wars” but said today’s challenges require news ways of thinking. “We need to understand faster, decide faster, and act faster.” This will require “the right mix of technology, operational concepts, and capabilities—all woven together in a networked way that is so credible, flexible, and formidable that it will give any adversary pause.”

Austin called U.S. allies, many of whom were in attendance at the ceremony, “force multipliers,” and Aquilino vowed to continue strengthening relationships with allies and partners across the globe.

“We are committed to providing the deterrence needed to prevent great power conflict. And should it be directed, we’re committed to be able to fight tonight and win,” said Aquilino. “We will compete to achieve our national interests. We will cooperate where we can, and we will confront where we must in order to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

DIA Says China’s Weapon Technology Advancing Fast While Russia Falls Behind

DIA Says China’s Weapon Technology Advancing Fast While Russia Falls Behind

April 30, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

China and Russia are the key adversaries when it comes to developing high-tech weaponry over the next 20 years, but while China’s rate of progress is accelerating, Russia is stymied by multiple factors, the Defense Intelligence Agency told Congress.

DIA Director Lt. Gen. Scott D. Berrier said China will have “basically modernized” its military in just six years and aims to introduce the most “disruptive” military technologies by 2030-2035, according to prepared testimony for the Senate Armed Services Committee provided April 29.

During the next two decades, any of the three main powers—China, Russia, or the U.S.—may steal the lead “in one or more fields and seek to develop military capabilities and concepts to capitalize on perceived advantages,” Berrier said. Any one of the three could come up with new weapons or concepts that “will change the character of warfare.”

But China’s whole-of-government approach—which Berrier called “military-civil-fusion”—intentionally blurs the lines between civilian and military technology efforts, and China’s greater investment in these presents “the greatest threat to U.S. technological superiority.” In fact, Berrier said China has “already achieved peer or near-peer levels in many research areas” and has targeted 57 specific technologies in which to outpace and out-field the U.S. military.

Soon, China will “almost certainly be able to hold U.S. and allied forces at risk at far greater distances from the Chinese mainland,” the DIA said, while it enhances its power projection forces. By 2027, China expects to be able to win a small number of brief but high-level military conflicts—“including the forcible unification of Taiwan”—while deterring, dissuading, or defeating any third-party military intervention. By 2050, China plans to be the dominant world military power.

To underscore China’s advance, the DIA noted that China deployed its new J-20 stealth fighters to the border region with India during recent tensions between the two countries.   

China did not slow its military modernization at all as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DIA said.

“China is highly advanced in quantum key distribution and is among the leaders” in artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, quantum information sciences, biotechnology, and advanced robotics. Its lead in this area is both due to indigenous capability as well as “licit and illicit foreign technology acquisition.” This has put it “at the forefront of numerous scientific fields.”

Russia, on the other hand, despite having a “massive” military-industrial complex, has adopted a strategy of targeting military technologies to specifically “match, counter, or offset” perceived advantages in U.S. capability, and those of certain other adversaries, rather than pursue its own pioneering efforts.

Russia can produce “large numbers of weapons” and it is trying to increase its indigenous capabilities in cutting-edge technology, but it is “challenged both organizationally and technically” to develop and make the “high-tech subcomponents required for advanced weapons” because of “severe funding, resource, and infrastructure constraints” on that country’s science and technology sector, Berrier wrote.

Because of these different approaches, China “very likely will present the greatest threat to U.S. technology superiority,” he added. The intelligence community has for three years described China as the “pacing threat” to the U.S. military.  

To offset its weakness in broad conventional weapons and computing capabilities, Russia is ever-more-reliant on a profusion of new nuclear weapons for which there is no analogy in the West, such as an undersea weapon capable of creating tsunamis that could destroy broad swaths of coastline. This reliance will continue, DIA estimates.

Intelligence estimates of China’s nuclear capabilities have changed from just six months ago, when it was estimated that China would double its nuclear weapons delivery systems from 200 to 400. Rather, it is accelerating that rate of deployment, the DIA said.

China and Russia both have pressed forward with “advances in space and counterspace capabilities, and [are] using cyberspace to increase their operational reach into U.S. infrastructure,” the DIA said. They are also both taking advantage of the COVID-19 environment “to conduct information warfare to undermine Western governments, attack coalitions, and compel economic and political outcomes in their favor.”  

CSO: Space is the ‘Wild, Wild West,’ Requiring New Norms for Operating in Orbit

CSO: Space is the ‘Wild, Wild West,’ Requiring New Norms for Operating in Orbit

April 30, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

Space is “pretty much the wild, wild West” with more satellites going into orbit and a large increase in space junk threatening assets. Meanwhile, the growing Space Force is working to establish operating norms in orbit to avoid added danger.

The Space Force currently tracks about 30,000 pieces of debris, with “probably half a million other objects” in orbit “that are too small for us to track,” said Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond during a virtual Washington Post event April 30.

“What we’re seeing is a significant increase in the numbers of satellites—largely they are commercial satellites, in great numbers in low-Earth orbit. … The reason why that’s happening is the cost of launch has gone down, and satellites that are smaller are more operationally relevant,” Raymond said. “And so, what used to be great power competition between then the Soviet Union and the United States is now students at universities launching satellites.”

Space is a “congested domain,” emphasized Raymond, and the Space Force has taken the role of “space traffic control.” The service does analysis and tracking to ensure objects don’t collide, and “we warn the world if we see that that’s about to happen,” he said. “For example, if there’s a Chinese satellite on orbit and it’s about to potentially collide with a piece of debris that they created when they blew up their satellite, we will warn them and tell them to maneuver.”

The Space Force does this mission because “we want to keep the domain safe,” but it is becoming more of a challenge as more governments and companies launch satellites into space. Raymond said he wants to see companies and countries design their satellites to ensure they don’t break into pieces at the end of life and to limit the amount of debris from launch.

“So it’s a big challenge,” he said. “Our goal is to be responsible users of space, to be transparent in what we’re doing to keep the domain safe for all and limit the creation of debris in the first place.”

Raymond said he is encouraging the development of “norms of behavior” in how countries can operate in space. While the 1968 Outer Space Treaty outlaws placing weapons of mass destruction in space or the creation of a military base on a celestial body, anything other than that is fair game.

“We are also working very closely with our international partners and our interagency partners to try to put together a framework for ‘Here’s how we’re going to operate,’ and then operate that way and demonstrate that good behavior like we do each and every day,” Raymond said.

Hicks: Technology Will Enable Continued Support of Afghanistan After Withdrawal

Hicks: Technology Will Enable Continued Support of Afghanistan After Withdrawal

April 30, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

U.S. aircraft will continue to provide support for Afghan forces through the withdrawal process beginning May 1, and the Pentagon’s No. 2 official said she is confident that modernized technology and processes will effectively enable “over-the-horizon” support from outside the country.

“It’s not 2001, it’s 2021,” Pentagon Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen H. Hicks said during an Aspen Institute event April 30. The 20-year gap between the beginning of the war in Afghanistan and the soon-to-be end has brought a “wide range of tools,” including the National Counterterrorism Center and the Department of Homeland Security to help protect the homeland, as well as improvements in space and cyberspace technology, unmanned systems, “and other approaches” to help protect U.S. and allied forces.

It is “a completely different landscape in which we are operating,” Hicks said.

President Joe Biden on April 14 announced the full withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan starting May 1 and to be completed by Sept. 11. Hicks said the U.S. has “the ability to continue to provide air support for Afghan forces” after the withdrawal, “including if they come under attack as we withdraw,” she said.

It has not been clear whether U.S. aircraft would continue to support Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in the fight against the Taliban as the withdrawal commences. Hicks said the U.S. will remain supportive of coalition partners, including Afghans.

In recent days, the Pentagon has sent increased assets to the region to conduct air support as part of the withdrawal, including B-52s to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, and a Navy aircraft carrier. Additionally, hundreds of ground troops are reportedly on their way to the country. 

Pentagon planning has focused on a “safe, orderly” drawdown in the country, and Hicks said she doesn’t expect to see a “fall of Saigon” scenario where Kabul falls after U.S. and coalition forces leave.