The Air Force will establish three new Total Force cyber units this year, said Secretary Michael Donley at AFA’s CyberFutures Conference outside of Washington, D.C. This includes an Air National Guard information operations squadron in Washington state, another one in California, and then one Air Force Reserve Command unit that will form an association with the 33rd Network Warfare Squadron at Lackland AFB, Tex., a part of Joint Base San Antonio. In addition, the Air Force plans to expand the Maryland ANG’s 175th NWS, he said during his March 23 address. “We’ve made considerable progress in being able to meet the threats and challenges of cyberspace by fielding a Total Force of over 45,000 trained and certified professionals, equipped to ensure the continuity of operations in cyberspace,” said Donley.
The Air Force is moving forward with a new, algorithm-driven system to help U.S. Northern Command better detect airborne threats. NORTHCOM and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which are tasked with protecting the homeland from attack, depend on a slew of radars and other data systems to monitor U.S.…