DARPA officials this week outlined the agency’s new “Plan X” cyber initiative to more than 350 cyber researchers, software engineers, and human-machine interface experts. Plan X, announced in May, is the first DARPA program that aims to create “revolutionary technologies” for understanding, planning, and managing Defense Department cyber missions in real-time, large-scale, and dynamic network environments, states the agency’s Oct. 17 release. Under Plan X, DARPA will conduct novel research on the cyber domain. Plan X is “explicitly not funding” research in cyber vulnerability analysis or new cyber weapons, states the release. Insights from this week’s discussions with the industry experts will help DARPA finalize its approach to the program, said Dan Roelker, a DARPA program manager. The agency anticipates issuing a Plan X broad agency announcement for industry within the next month.
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.