Global Stare: The Air Force is working to connect data collected by the wide-area surveillance sensor Gorgon Stare into its Distributed Common Ground System and then bring all Afghanistan-based personnel working with the sensor back to the United States, said Lt. Gen. Larry James, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance during AFA’s Air & Space Conference, Sept. 17. Eventually the 13th Intelligence Squadron at Beale AFB, Calif., will be assigned the primary task of conducting that mission, he added. James said part of the goal is to reduce the number of “boots on the ground” in theater.
The Air Force is shoring up its cyber defenses both on and off base for critical infrastructure such as water and electrical power, and industry experts are calling for more, even specialized, dedicated microgrids offsite to support USAF operations in case of a total blackout caused by cyberattacks.
