The Air Force Research Laboratory has opened a new facility designed to train airmen for performance in altitudes with high pressure.

Four computer-controlled altitude chambers compose AFRL's research altitude chamber facility, where airmen undergo physiology training for high-pressure scenarios, the laboratory said Friday. The U.S. Air Force held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 27 to celebrate RAC's opening.

The facility supports AFRL's 711th Human Performance Wing, which helps airmen enhance physiological performance via medical technology. AFRL works with Naval Medical Research Unit – Dayton to pursue this task, which uses state-of-the-art facilities including RAC.

“Aerospace physiology research and training, here in the RAC and in our other facilities, is essential to the readiness of our aircrews and their missions,” said Darrell Phillipson, acting director of AFRL’s human performance wing.

The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have partnered to jointly mitigate climate-driven issues at DHS facilities. The partnership establishes a framework that would guide joint climate mitigation efforts between the two departments, DOE said Thursday. 

DOE’s Federal Energy Management Program will offer training and technical assistance to reduce the carbon emissions of DHS operations. Efforts will include the implementation of electric federal vehicles across homeland security activities.

“Through this strategic partnership, DOE and DHS are modeling the administration’s government-wide approach to strengthen our national security posture, leverage innovative technologies and protect the American people from the worst effects of the climate crisis," said Kelly Speakes-Backman, acting assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy at DOE.

The Department of the Navy would experience a 1.8 percent increase in budget for fiscal year 2022 if the corresponding President’s Budget submission goes according to plan.

The Navy Department said Friday it would use the budget to sustain a fleet of 296 ships within FY22, with a potential increase to $211.7 billion.

This investment would complement the thirty-one amphibious ships and 11 aircraft carriers that compose the core of corresponding naval groups.

The Navy expects to add four destroyers, five littoral combat ships, three nuclear attack submarines, one amphibious transport dock, one fleet oiler, one expeditionary staging base, one expeditionary fast transport and one towing, salvage and rescue ship. These 17 ships would replace 14 existing vessels scheduled for retirement.

The planned budget aligns with the tri-service maritime and interim national security strategies and combines multiple technology investments such as those put into hypersonic weapons, unmanned systems and Columbia-class submarine recapitalization.

The Department of the Air Force proposed a $173.7 billion budget for fiscal year 2022 to help deliver joint lethality and build up the future force. The FY 2022 budget request includes $17.4 billion in funds for the U.S. Space Force and $156.3 billion for the U.S. Air Force, USSF said Friday.

The proposed budget seeks to fund the department’s key modernization efforts including the Advanced Battle Management System, Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent, Next-Generation Air Dominance and Next-Gen Overhead Persistent Infrared missile warning system.

The Air Force’s procurement budget for the coming fiscal year is $22.9 billion to help it acquire F-35, F-15EX Eagle II, MC-130J and KC-46 Pegasus aircraft. The Space Force would see a $456 million increase in its FY 2022 procurement budget to support its acquisition of National Security Space Launch Vehicles and GPS III Follow-On spacecraft. 

The department would earmark $11.3 billion for the service’s research, development, testing and evaluation efforts, reflecting a $725 million rise from the current fiscal year. The department requested $66.6 billion for operation and maintenance programs to sustain readiness and fund daily operations.

“This budget starts us on the path necessary to organize, train, and equip the Air and Space Forces to deter and, if necessary, defeat the challenges we anticipate in 2030 and beyond,” said John Roth, acting secretary of the Air Force 

“It not only funds the capabilities required today but also where the Department of the Air Force needs to make trade-offs to invest in the capabilities required for future competition,” Roth added.

If you're interested in the Department of Defense's space tech acquisition efforts, then check out GovCon Wire's Space Acquisition Forum coming up on Sept. 14th. 

Featuring Shawn Barnes, Acting Assistant Secretary Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration as keynote speaker. He will address the value of an integrated space architecture and the importance of synchronization and integration for space capabilities. 

To register for this virtual forum and view other upcoming events, visit the GCW Events page.

The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are warning that a cyberthreat actor launched a spearphishing attack against government agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGO) and intergovernmental organizations (IGO).

The threat actor used a compromised user account from email marketing software company Constant Contact to transmit phishing emails that seemed to originate from a U.S. government agency to over 7,000 accounts across about 350 agencies, NGOs and IGOs, the agencies said Friday.

“The emails contained a legitimate Constant Contact link that redirected to a malicious URL, from which a malicious ISO file was dropped onto the victim’s machine,” the advisory reads.

The ISO file contained the malicious Cobalt Strike Beacon implant “that calls back to attacker-controlled infrastructure and checks for additional commands to execute on the compromised system,” the document states.

CISA and the bureau called on critical infrastructure owners and operators to implement multifactor authentication, update all software, field endpoint and detection response tools, apply centralized log management for host monitoring and deploy signatures to block or detect inbound connection from Cobalt Strike servers and other post-exploitation tools, among other mitigation measures.

If you want to know more about the latest updates about the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), then check out Potomac Officers Club's (POC) CMMC Forum coming up on June 16th. 

CMMC Accreditation Body Chairman Karlton Johnson will serve as the keynote speaker for the Forum to provide his overview and vision of the CMMC Rollout as well as the top priorities for the board and how industry feedback will help to improve the vision behind how the organization develops for the first 100 days.

To register for this virtual forum and view other upcoming events, visit the POC Events page.