To execute the mission to defend the US military’s warfighting networks and preserve the option to attack an adversary’s own computer systems, US Strategic Command must overcome its present shortage in skilled personnel, according to the new STRATCOM boss, Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton. “In the whole net ops or cyberspace domain, this is an area where I have expressed to the services where I need some assistance,” Chilton told the Defense Writers Group March 4 in Washington, D.C. “We are going to need organizations within the services, units from the services, that are organized, trained, and equipped to do the missions. And for some of the high end skill sets, we don’t have enough of those people.” The command is “most challenged” in finding the technical expertise on the cyber attack side, Chilton said. “Just like in any domain, you can’t just build a fortress around yourself. A good defense requires offensive capabilities as well.”
After years of experiments and tests, senior Air Force leaders say they're on the verge of using C-17s and other cargo aircraft to launch cruise missiles via airdrop, touting the development as a way to bolster the combat fleet and a major shift in the service’s mindset.