Subscribe to the Free Print Edition!
Celebrating 25 Years

GCN Home > 02/19/07 issue

Air Force Explores the Next Frontier

Cyber Command could establish model for info operations

By Peter A. Buxbaum, Special to GCN

As cyberwarfare grows in importance, the Air Force’s new Cyber Command could become a magnet for funding, resources and capabilities.

The Air Force announced in November it would create the Cyber Command, to be headquartered at the 8th Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., and named Lt. Gen. Robert Elder the new organization’s first chief. According to Air Force budget documents released Feb. 5, the command will formally begin operations in May and be fully operational by October 2009.

The Cyber Command plans to move beyond the idea of cyberspace “as network operations, information operations or use of the Internet as an enabler for military operations in physical domains,” Elder said.

“The Air Force now recognizes that cyberspace ops is a potential center of gravity for the United States and, much like air and space superiority, cyberspace superiority is a prerequisite for effective operations in all warfighting domains,” Elder said.

The Cyber Command also will work closely with other government agencies in support of the Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations, part of the U.S. Strategic Command, he said.

The just-released fiscal 2008 budget proposal doesn’t provide many clues to how much funding the new command will receive.

Budget documents are notoriously difficult to decipher, but, she pointed out, there is an increase of $300 million proposed for “communications,” some of which could be spent on cyberactivities.

In the long term, experts believe, the Cyber Command is designed to build capabilities for cyberactivities that could extend well beyond the Air Force.

“It is important in terms of funding because it is a dedicated organization engaged in a major activity,” said Phil Finnegan, an analyst at Teal Group Corp., a defense consulting firm in Fairfax, Va. “Having such a focused organization will definitely improve capabilities over the long term. It’s less likely to be shifted aside as a lower priority.”

More news on related topics: Defense IT, IT Management, Web Strategies



GCN Popup