The time is now to go all in on modernizing weapon systems
By Mike Weigand
Friday, Aug 11
A communications pod installed in a KC-46 Pegasus will allow the F-35 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor to connect and instantly receive and transmit the most up-to-date information to ensure the warfighters maintain decision superiority. This concept is known as Capability Release #1 under the Advanced Battle Management System framework. The ABMS is the Department of the Air Force’s contribution to Joint All Domain Command and Control, or CJADC2, a DoD effort to digitally connect all elements of the U.S. military – from sensors to shooters – across all five warfighting domains: air, land, sea, space and cyberspace. (U.S. Air Force graphic)
In the fifteen months since Putin’s unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian armed forces have been engaged in what some have called the first hybrid war, combatting their invaders on the ground, in the air, at sea, and in cyberspace at the same time. As the largest military conflict of the cyber age, there is much to be learned from the war in Ukraine. But today, one thing is already clear: weapon systems are vulnerable to cyberattack.
In recent years, there has been a growing drumbeat of warnings about the vulnerability of American weapon systems. In its January 2023 report Challenges in Establishing a Comprehensive Cybersecurity Strategy and Performing Effective Oversight, the Government Accountability Office raised warnings about mission-critical vulnerabilities and security risks to Operational Technology assets – such as the Department of Defense’s weapon systems. As far back as 2018, GAO had raised the issue in its report, Weapon Systems Cybersecurity: DOD Just Beginning to Grapple with Scale of Vulnerabilities; very little has changed in the ensuing five years.
There is, however, reason to be hopeful.
In recent months, many senior leaders at the DoD and in Congress have all approached weapon system’s vulnerabilities with a renewed sense of urgency.
https://www.c4isrnet.com/opinion/2023/08/11/the-time-is-now-to-go-all-in-on-modernizing-weapon-systems/
