The Air Force is working to develop a “proactive” defense in cyberspace, where it can predict an adversary’s actions before they impact the network, said Maj. Gen. Suzanne Vautrinot, 24th Air Force commander. This is similar to a star quarterback’s preparation for a big football game, she told attendees at AFA’s CyberFutures Conference in National Harbor, Md., on March 23. Vautrinot said cyber defense is kind of like watching game tapes over and over again. Eventually, just like sports, one will be able to predict the play, she said in carrying forth the analogy. “You can see the setup coming and you can get in the backfield long before the ball is released,” said Vautrinot. That “simply means that you are seeing [the play] before it sets up. And, if you see the setup, and you know what the setup is going to look like, you can write a signature and help prevent that setup from infecting your network,” she added.
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design the Air Force said.