? The Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., has created an academic major focused on cybersecurity. The new major, dubbed computer network security, is “designed to help cadets understand what the cyberspace domain is and how the Air Force will establish cyberspace superiority in future conflicts,” said Martin Carlisle, head of the academy’s computer science department for the 2014-15 academic year, in an Aug. 12 release. “This is a time when the academy is reducing majors, which shows how important we think this mission field is,” he said. The computer network security track will feature an introductory class teaching cadets how to reverse software engineering, letting them “analyze viruses and other malware to figure out how it operates,” said Carlisle. Other classes will deal with computer forensics, strategy, political science, and law. Twenty-eight cadets—25 sophomores and three juniors—have already enrolled in the major, according to the release.
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.