Of the eight experiments being tested at this year’s JEFX, Air Force Special Operations Command has one that it hopes will enable special operations forces to wear computers and communications that will keep them in touch and aid mission management. The system, known as SWIPE, uses existing wireless technology to provide enhancements to four components—special ops tactical network, the remote sensor iridium, the geographic suitability assessment tool, and the command and control mission manager. The four packages will be combined and tested in a Windows-based secure network during JEFX, according to Luis Tirado, the JEFX program manager for AFSOC.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
