Shaun Waterman
Recent stories by Shaun Waterman
Worried by CYBERCOM Firings, Lawmakers Dig Into Hiring Challenges
Members of Congress from both parties expressed frustration and dismay over the abrupt and still-unexplained firing last month of Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh from his dual role as head of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency.
Air Force Launching New Artificial Intelligence ‘Center of Excellence’
The Department of the Air Force will establish a new center for artificial intelligence development, building on existing partnerships with MIT, Stanford University, and Microsoft.
Pentagon Opening the Throttle on New Rules for Software
The Department of Defense is pushing ahead with a plan to automate and streamline the system it uses to ensure that software running on military networks is secure, and will start implementation next month, acting Chief Information Officer Katie Arrington said May 7.
Air Force Eyes More Uses for AI—with Guardrails
The Air Force and other military services are deploying artificial intelligence tools in their IT networks and Security Operations Centers where personnel monitor cyber threats, officials said May 6—but they are leveraging the emerging technology cautiously even as some say it is ready to transform ...
Meeting the Software Challenge: Acquisition Reform Brings Its Own Complications
In Part 3 of a series exploring the Software Acquisition Pathway made mandatory by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s March 6 memo, learn how the new rules were designed to strip away constraints on how the DOD and the military services contract with private sector companies, ...
Space Force Tells Vendors: We Want AI, but It Needs to Be Specific
There are many use cases for different kinds of artificial intelligence in the Space Force, but the service is moving cautiously towards adoption, hampered in part by a disconnect with vendors, officials said May 1.
Data Is Fundamental to the Space Force. But Sharing It Is a Challenge
The Space Force relies entirely on data—but it lacks the systems and tools to analyze and share that data properly even within the service, let alone with international partners, officials said May 1.
Inside Orbital Watch: USSF’s Neighborhood Watch For Space
The launch last month of Orbital Watch, the new Space Force program to share declassified U.S. government threat intelligence with private sector satellite operators and other commercial space companies, comes amid increasing concern about Chinese and Russian development of anti-satellite weapons.
Meeting the Software Challenge: How the New Acquisition Pathway Came to Be
In Part 2 of a series exploring the Software Acquisition Pathway that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently made mandatory, we look back at how the acquisition reform has its origins in problems with the F-35.
Meeting the Software Challenge: How the Air Force Is Embracing New Acquisition Rules
In Part 1 of a series exploring the Software Acquisition Pathway, Lt. Gen. Luke C.G. Cropsey, who heads the Air Force’s most consequential IT acquisition programs, says he’s already using the authorities that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has pushed to contract directly with commercial startups ...
Acting Pentagon CIO Signing Off on New, Faster Cyber Rules for Contractors
A new fast-track approval process for software on Defense Department networks will use AI tools to radically shorten a process that currently takes months or years, Acting Pentagon Chief Information Officer Katie Arrington said April 23.
Air Force Piloting Hydrogen Energy Tech for Agile Combat Logistics
Hickham Air Force Base in Hawaii is trialing novel energy technology to provide electrical power and hydrogen fuel in the kind of isolated and austere outposts the Air Force will need in the Pacific theater for its new Agile Combat Employment way of warfare.
Air Force Using Generative AI to Help Modernize Legacy Software
Military software developers are using generative AI-powered coding assistants to help them modernize decades-old legacy codebases, officials said this week. And the Department of the Air Force Bot Operations Team (DAFBOT), part of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, says it is leading the way.
DOD Plans Quicker, More Comprehensive Cybersecurity Standards for Contractors
Defense IT contractors who can demonstrate a secure supply chain and secure coding practices will soon be able to get fast track approval to have their products operate on DoD networks, radically shortening a process that often takes months or years at present, Pentagon Chief ...
Military AI Will Mean Overhauling Test as Well as Tactics: DOD’s First AI Chief
To employ autonomous weapons systems like pilotless aircraft and other artificial intelligence-powered innovations, the U.S. military will have to overhaul not just its strategy and tactics in every domain, but also the way it tests its technology, according to the Defense Department’s first ever AI ...