In late November, The U.S. Air Force evaluated the design of the B-21 bomber aircraft’s weapon system to verify production readiness. The assessment reflected positive progress from the aircraft’s engineering and manufacturing development phase that lasted almost three years, USAF said Monday.

“The B-21 Raider program is on the right track to make continued progress over the next few years as it now transitions from the design phase into a robust manufacturing phase that will ultimately produce our first B-21 test aircraft,” said Heather Wilson, secretary of the Air Force.

The critical review is intended to further develop the bomber’s design and define the risks present in the Department of Defense‘s large acquisition programs, said Randall Walden, program executive officer at the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office that leads the B-21 program. The service branch plans to grant initial capability for the aircraft in the mid-2020s.
 

The U.S. Air Force plans to announce the latest findings of its year-long study that explored how the military can protect its equipment and data from emerging global threats on electromagnetic spectrum in January, Military.com reported Monday.

Senior service officials will discuss the findings at the Weapons and Tactics Conference at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., according to Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson. The study aims to determine the location and methods that adversaries could use on the electromagnetic spectrum to attack U.S. military assets.

“We need to know what part of the spectrum is being denied and be able to get the data out from whatever or wherever it is, through whatever means at the time or the place that [we] can,” Wilson said.

The Air Force also formed the Electronic Warfare Enterprise Capability Collaboration Team and worked with experts at think tanks, tech companies, joint service teams and innovators to create a road map to guide military efforts focused on electronic warfare. Wilson said the Department of Defense has already implemented some proposals in the study.

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have developed a method to design “smart” antennas that use narrow beams and provide lower signal interference, delays and energy loss during transmissions.

NIST said Monday, the method utilizes narrow beams to rapidly send signals in different directions and support 5G wireless devices and base stations. It also enables system designers and engineers to select appropriate antenna beamwidths and the antenna that best suits a specific application. 

“Our new method could reduce costs by enabling greater success with initial network design, eliminating much of the trial and error that is now required,” said Kate Remley, a NIST engineer.

NIST said its new method came from a study that also confirmed that narrow beams can significantly reduce signal interference and delays, mainly reducing time interval during signal reflections from 15 nanoseconds to nearly 1.4 nanoseconds.

Researchers plan to conduct another study to use the antenna evaluation method in different environments and to see other wireless channel characteristics.

The Senate approved a bill that would allow the Department of Homeland Security to put all component agency data into one system for easier access to information. 

The DHS Data Framework Act proposed by Texas Rep. Will Hurd backs the development of a single data framework that collects all data related to homeland security, terrorist information, weapons of mass destruction and national intelligence to support DHS operations, a statement from Hurd’s office said Friday. It added the system will reduce the need for multiple databases with different logins, passwords and legal restrictions.

“We live in an increasingly connected world and must be able to get the right information to the right people at the right time in order to keep terrorists on the run and off our shores. The DHS Data Framework Act does just that by allowing DHS to quickly and safely share sensitive information among law enforcement agencies without compromising our nation’s secrets,” Hurd said. 

The House has yet to approve the bill before it moves to President Trump to be signed into law. 

Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has said the Pentagon plans to focus its 2019 national strategy on cyber, missiles and space areas in order to maintain the country’s military advantage.

Shanahan wrote in a Defense News article published Monday that the Department of Defense will leverage developments in missile defense systems, hypersonics and long-range precision fires in 2019 to protect U.S. and international assets from adversary missiles.

“These capabilities will be part of a modular and cost-effective architecture, allowing us to take advantage of commercially available systems and economies of scale,” he added.

DoD will advance a legislative measure to establish the new space force as the sixth military branch as well as form a new space development agency and a space-centric combatant command.

Shanahan noted that the department will operationalize its cyber strategy and build up the defense industrial base’s cyber protection through the newly formed protecting critical technology task force.

“In parallel, we will scale artificial intelligence throughout the department and expand joint force advantages through the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, established this past year,” he added.
 

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, called on the White House and Congress to create a new U.S. cyber doctrine and establish an international agreement on standards regarding cyber attacks and security to deter threats, particularly Russia, CNET reported Friday. He said the federal government has been failing to protect critical infrastructures in the country and to prevent disinformation campaigns. 

Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, noted hackers have already caused billions of dollars in damages across the world, like the Russian military’s NotPetya attack that caused more than $10B in damages to major companies like Maersk and FedEx. The lawmaker then warned that cyber attacks may get worse in the future, requiring more attention from the U.S. government. 

“The true cost of our cyber vulnerabilities won’t be sudden or catastrophic,” Warner said. “They will be gradual and accumulating.”

To address the cyber-related issues, Warner proposed in his cyber doctrine that the government should: 

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• Change international norms to address cyber threats
• Work with tech giants to combat disinformation campaigns 
• Harden networks, weapons systems and the Internet-of-Things 
• Realign defense spending to increase budget for cybersecurity
• To support the proposed changes to U.S. cybersecurity policies