At a recent Air Force Association event, Maj. Gen. Michael Fantini, director of the U.S. Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability, predicts warfighting will be the evolutionary, revolutionary and disruptive baseline, National Defense reported Tuesday. Fantini said the baseline concept involves increasing the service’s 312 squadrons to 386, while the evolutionary option focuses on integrating emerging technologies into current aircraft and spacecraft.

He added that the revolutionary concept revolves around operating aircraft from remote locations. The last disruptive option covers more futuristic ideas such as drone swarming, low-cost expendable drones and robotic wingmen.

AFWIC is working to establish cross-functional teams to focus on developing capabilities for USAF missions such as command, control, communications and computers; precision navigation and timing; and other efforts such as hypersonics and directed energy.

Gen. Paul Nakasone, commander of U.S. Cyber Command and director of National Security Agency, updated lawmakers on the federal government’s efforts to deter foreign interference in past midterm elections, Fifth Domain reported Tuesday. At the meeting with Senate Intelligence Committee, he said the government’s initiative to monitor cyber events and impose consequences on adversaries was effective.

“We have been able to show effectiveness against, primarily, in this case the Russians, as we take a look at our midterm elections,” Nakasone said. However, he noted they have yet to determine if the success might lead to long term change in the adversaries’ behavior.  

USCYBERCOM adopted the new “persistent engagement” and “defending forward” approach to boost protection during past elections. Persistent engagement allows the command to have constant contact with adversaries in cyberspace, while defending forward involves getting access to adversary networks or infrastructures to get insights.

Other officials at the Senate meeting said the changes in how the command addresses threats and new authorities from the White House and Congress provide agencies the flexibility to act against cyber attacks.

U.S. citizen satisfaction of federal government services has dropped by 1.1 percent to 68.9 in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, according to the 2018 ACSI Federal Government Report released Tuesday. The report noted that ACSI conducted interviews for the analysis before the government shutdown, nullifying the shutdown’s impact on the decline in satisfaction until the 2019 report.

According to the ACSI report, factors such as quality of information; customer service; timeliness and ease of procedures; and usefulness of government websites faced a decline in scores for 2018. The report also states that while Democrat satisfaction with the government declined, Republicans and Independents were more satisfied with the current administration and gave a higher score.

The Department of Defense and Department of the Interior both achieved a score of 78, exceeding the economy-wide ACSI national average of 77. The Commerce Department, Justice Department and State Department also achieved scores above the federal government’s overall score. Other government units that got top rankings are Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and Bureau of Consular Affairs which both got a score of 89. The Department of Housing and Urban Development received the lowest score of 57 among federal departments.

ACSI based the scores on interviews with 2,779 respondents that were chosen randomly and contacted via e-mail.

Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator, said the agency will take longer to recover from the shutdown upon reopening, Space News reported Tuesday. During a broadcast meeting, he said the newly reopened agency’s expected recovery time will exceed the shutdown’s 35-day duration.

The administrator stated that the agency began focusing on providing civil employees with back pay after the shutdown’s temporary conclusion on Jan. 25. However, the agency may not guarantee back pay for contractual employees who face varying work arrangements, Bridenstine noted. “Every contract is different, and so we’re working through that right now,” he said.

The space agency, along with other affected agencies, are receiving funds through Feb. 15, while the Congress works to address the situation.

The U.S. intelligence community issued a new report warning the government of a strengthening alliance between Russia and China and the negative impacts on U.S. allies of previous policy changes by the Trump administration, CBS News reported Tuesday.

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During a recent meeting with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, top intelligence officials presented the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment. The document warns that China and Russia appear more aligned than their relationship in mid-1950s and the two countries may strengthen their ties in the coming year. The IC report also states that some U.S. allies and partners are seeking independence due to recent changes to U.S. policies on security and trade.

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National security threats may also increase as adversaries continue utilizing technological advances, with future U.S. elections still at risk of disruption. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats warned that despite a deal with President Trump, North Korea might retain its nuclear capabilities. CIA Director Gina Haspel said the Islamic State group also remains “dangerous” as it still holds “thousands” of fighters in Iraq and Syria.

House and Senate lawmakers have reintroduced a bill that would require President Trump to seek congressional approval before launching a nuclear first strike. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif, unveiled the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2019 during a recent press conference with nuclear arms control leaders, Markey’s office said Tuesday.

Lieu said the legislation would give Congress “the constitutional duty to decide when a nuclear first strike is warranted.” The move comes as a result of President Trump’s “unpredictable and rash” actions, he noted. “As we’re now coming to realize, we could be one tweet that insults the president away from catastrophe,” Lieu said. Markey described any U.S. president’s power to launch a first strike as “immoral” and “disproportionate.”

Advocates and organizations have expressed support for the Markey-Lieu bill, including the Union of Concerned Scientists Washington, the Arms Control Association and the Federation of American Scientists. 

The National Nuclear Security Administration has confirmed that the Department of Energy commenced production of the W76-2 nuclear weapon at NNSA’s Pantex Plant in the Texas Panhandle, NPR reported Monday.

Hans Kristensen, director of the nuclear information project at the Federation of American Scientists, said the W76-2 is a variant of the U.S. Navy’s submarine launched W76-1 weapon which has a yield of nearly 100 kilotons. Kristensen said the W76-2 will be smaller than its predecessor and have a potential yield of five to seven kilotons.

The Trump administration released the Nuclear Posture Review detailing plans to develop smaller nuclear weapons launched from a submarine. The report claims Russia has developed its own small nuclear weapons that could give the nation a warfighting advantage. The NNSA noted that the first W76-2 production unit is underway ahead of a limited delivery to the Navy in October.