While the United States has made it clear that it possesses offensive cyber capabilities to retaliate against cyber attacks, NATO “is not there” yet, said Hans Binnendijk, SAIS senior fellow, at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference on Tuesday. The alliance is still “thinking about defense,” he said. Though the alliance is focusing heavily on cyber threats, cyber attacks would probably not invoke NATO’s collective defense clause, he said. However, “much of it depends on the nature of the cyber attack,” said Binnendijk.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.