The Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Agency stood up a human intelligence detachment at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, Aug. 14, thereby re-establishing Humint as a core intelligence discipline. Det. 6, as it is known, is the first Humint unit in the Air Force since 1995. “This detachment signifies another step forward in re-establishing Humint in the Air Force,” said Maj. Gen. Craig Koziol, AF ISR Agency commander. The unit is co-located with the agency’s National Air and Space Intelligence Center. The Air Force has had an initial cadre of Humint personnel in place since November 2007. AFISRA expects the new detachment to transition to squadron-level over the next few years. Creation of the unit is part of the service’s ongoing transformation of its ISR operations and organizations. Last month for example, the 480th Intelligence Wing at Langley AFB, Va., formally incorporated three intelligence groups from Germany, Hawaii, and South Korea to align the service’s distributed common ground system under one organizational roof. (Includes Lackland report by Maj. Michelle Lai)
China thinks it will be able to invade Taiwan by 2027 and has developed a technology edge in many key areas—but it is artificial intelligence that may be the decisive factor should conflict erupt, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said.