The Air Force’s cyber operations arm, 24th Air Force at Lackland AFB, Tex., has received orders to spend a little less time in the virtual world and get more involved in real-world training exercises. “Right now we do a lot of simulation with cyberspace and it carries over to how we train and exercise,” said Brig. Gen. Charles Shugg, 24th vice commander, during a panel discussion on cyberspace last week at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla. “We’ve reached the point of time where we have to figure out our cyber attack [capability] and cyber defenses in conjunction with other domains,” he explained. In other words, USAF’s cyber warriors need to integrate more with airmen in the air and space domains and participate in real-world exercises with them.
The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems Inc. and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems matching $17.7 million contracts for an "Off-Board Sensing Station,” which is an unmanned aircraft that would extend a manned fighter’s sensing range and also potentially carry additional weapons for that aircraft. The cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts…