Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh have tasked the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board to study three topics in 2015. They include, “cyber vulnerabilities of embedded systems in air and space systems; enhanced utility of unmanned air vehicles in contested and denied environments; and utility of quantum systems for the Air Force,” according to an Oct. 17 release. Fifty-four of “the nation’s top civilian scientists and engineers” make up the task force, which is slated to brief its findings to Air Force leadership by the end of June 2015, states the release. “The information and recommendations of the SAB will then be used to shape and guide Air Force policy,” according to the release. (Terms of Reference for 2015 studies.) (See also Put Your Thinking Caps On for reference to 2014 studies.)
Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, head of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, warned that Russia would remain an enduring threat to NATO and global security, regardless of the outcome of the war in Ukraine.