The 175th Cyberspace Operations Group was activated on Sunday during a ceremony at Warfield ANGB, Md., according to a release. The group will consist of three cyberspace operations squadrons, an operations support squadron, and intelligence squadron. Also during the ceremony, the 175th Network Warfare Squadron was redesignated as the 175th Cyberspace Operations Squadron and the 135th Airlift Squadron became the 135th Intelligence Squadron. “We have just been activated and already have two mobilizations scheduled. We are on the ground floor of the Air Force’s newest mission,” said group commander Col. Shawn Bratton. According to the release, “The Department of Defense networks are probed approximately 250,000 times per hour with more than 100 foreign intelligence organizations attempting to steal information.” The group is eventually projected to include 300 airmen, who will “provide cyber command readiness inspections, critical infrastructure and vulnerability assessments, as well as support interagency partners.”
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
