The Air Force’s top information officer said Tuesday protecting the aerial network is one of his top priorities this year. That’s a daunting challenge since the network is hosted on aircraft that are moving exceedingly fast “We think we know how the terrestrial layer works. We think we know how the space layer works, but what happens when you effectively put routers on devices that are traveling Mach 3, or, in a missile, Mach 6?” said Lt. Gen. Bill Lord, USAF’s chief of warfighting integration, to reporters in the Pentagon. Another priority is figuring out the network that will broadcast F-35 intelligence feeds in US-controlled airspace and what types of waveforms are available, he added.
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.…