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First Batch of PACOM F-35A Aircraft Arrives at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa
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First Batch of PACOM F-35A Aircraft Arrives at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa


First Batch of PACOM F-35A Aircraft Arrives at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa

A first batch consisting of two F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters has landed Monday on Kadena Air Base, Okinawa to participate in a six-month operation part of U.S. Pacific Command’s Theater Security Package program, Stars and Stripes reported Tuesday.

The arrival follows an announcement the U.S. Air Force made in October.

Ten additional fighters from Utah’s 34th Fighter Squadron are expected to follow the first two.

Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said to reporters that the deployment is a sign of U.S. commitment to protect the region from emerging threats including the conflict with North Korea.

Onodera added that he requested the Air Force to observe noise-control measures to minimize the F-35A’s impact on Okinawa residents.

The effort marks the F-35A’s first assignment under the PACOM.

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Lawmakers Modify NIST’s Cyber Auditing Authority Under Proposed Bill
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Lawmakers Modify NIST’s Cyber Auditing Authority Under Proposed Bill


Lawmakers Modify NIST's Cyber Auditing Authority Under Proposed BillHouse lawmakers have updated a proposed bill that originally aimed to make the National Institute of Standards and Technology responsible for auditing federal agencies’ cybersecurity, Nextgov reported Tuesday.

The updated legislation would require NIST to support the security audits of agency inspectors general instead of running such audits themselves, the report said.

The bill would also direct NIST to develop a guide on how federal agencies could implement its Cybersecurity Framework as mandated by an executive order released in May.

A spokesperson for the House Science Committee said the bill was revised in response to comments from stakeholders and experts.

The proposed legislation is sponsored by Committee Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), Rep. Ralph Abraham, (R-Louisiana) and others.

US Provides A-29 Super Tucano Pair to Lebanese Army
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US Provides A-29 Super Tucano Pair to Lebanese Army


US Provides A-29 Super Tucano Pair to Lebanese ArmyLebanon’s army has received a pair of A-29 Super Tucano aircraft from the U.S. government as part of the latter’s commitment to support the Lebanese armed forces, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun of the Lebanese army told Reuters the light attack aircraft’s combat and surveillance capacities will support military aerial missions of his home country.

Elizabeth Richard, U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, said the federal government has invested more than $1.5 billion in training services and equipment to support approximately 32,000 Lebanese troops over the past decade.

“We have recently announced another $120 million in foreign military financing, which brings the total investment in the LAF to over $160 million just this year,” added Richard, according to the report.

Report: Air Force Pegs F-22 Raptor Modernization Cost at $1.7B
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Report: Air Force Pegs F-22 Raptor Modernization Cost at $1.7B


Report: Air Force Pegs F-22 Raptor Modernization Cost at $1.7BThe U.S. Air Force has estimated that modernizing 34 Lockheed Martin-built F-22 aircraft from a training configuration to an operational status would cost more than $1.7 billion over an 11-year period, FlightGlobal reported Thursday.

A USAF report, submitted to Congress and obtained by FlightGlobal, provides details about the service branch’s projected cost and timeline for the conversion of Block 20 Raptors that into the Block 30/35 configuration.

The branch also informed Congress of its plans to roll out a helmet-mounted cueing system and update sensors for the Block 30/35 fleet as well as field the TacLink 16 and tactical mobile ad hoc networks.

USAF added the F-22 upgrade cost estimates might change depending on the production of various components such as the fourth-generation APG-77 radar.

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Jeanette Manfra: DHS Shares Info on Wireless Network Vulnerability
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Jeanette Manfra: DHS Shares Info on Wireless Network Vulnerability


Jeanette Manfra: DHS Shares Info on Wireless Network VulnerabilityThe Department of Homeland Security has publicly shared information about a newly-discovered vulnerability in the Wi-Fi Protected Access II protocol that works to help protect almost all wireless network traffic, DHS’ Jeanette Manfra wrote in an article published Tuesday.

Manfra, assistant secretary for cybersecurity and communications at DHS, said that the Software Engineering Institute’s CERT Division alerted DHS on the WPA2 exploit technique dubbed Key Reinstallation Attack, or KRACK.

She added that KRACK could likely affect any standards-compliant implementation of WPA2 since the vulnerabilities are in the 802.11i protocol.

Threat actors can use KRACK to exploit Wi-Fi networks within range and view network traffic that WPA2 encryption is expected to protect, according to Manfra.

She noted that attackers could also access user information such as emails, chat messages, pictures, credit card numbers and passwords if additional security measures like HTTPS are not implemented.

Following the publication of CERT report, DHS’ US-Computer Emergency Readiness Team released a public alert in an effort to provide information on KRACK to a wide audience.

DHS also sent a directive to all federal departments and agencies that requires the use of cybersecurity best practices to secure websites and email messages.

The department worked with the FBI to issue a joint technical alert on advanced persistent threats against critical infrastructure, especially the energy sector.

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GSA, Other Federal Agencies Partner on Website Security Shared Service
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GSA, Other Federal Agencies Partner on Website Security Shared Service


GSA, Other Federal Agencies Partner on Website Security Shared ServiceThe General Services Administration has teamed up with several other federal agencies, including the Defense Department, to create a cybersecurity shared service as part of efforts to secure government websites.

GSA said Tuesday the shared service will work to address cost and maintenance challenges associated with the implementation of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure used to protect connections between websites and users.

Seventy-eight percent of federal websites have complied with the Office of Management and Budget‘s 2015 policy that requires the use of HTTPS across all public-facing government web domains, GSA noted.

The shared service is intended to help agencies modernize the availability and distribution of web certificates as well as automate mission systems and software; standardize government HTTPS configurations; and increase transparency for online public services.

GSA added participating agencies will work to fully adopt HTTPS and HTTP Strict Transport Security as well as build a new public key infrastructure and develop a certificate transparency log to boost public trust.

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DoD Seeks OMB Approval to Collect Defense Industrial Base Information
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DoD Seeks OMB Approval to Collect Defense Industrial Base Information


DoD Seeks OMB Approval to Collect Defense Industrial Base InformationThe Defense Department seeks Office of Management and Budget approval DoD’s plan to collect information as part of an ongoing defense industrial base review.

DoD said Thursday in a Federal Register notice that the proposed survey is urgent and will help the department identify, evaluate and issue recommendations to boost the defense industrial base.

President Donald Trump called for a cross-government review of U.S. companies’ capacity to support the defense industrial base through an executive order issued July.

DoD plans to collect voluntary responses from 300 individuals within businesses and other for-profit organizations.

The department will accept comments on the proposed information collection effort through Nov. 27.

CBO: US Nuclear Weapon Programs to Cost $1.2T Through 2046
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CBO: US Nuclear Weapon Programs to Cost $1.2T Through 2046


CBO: US Nuclear Weapon Programs to Cost $1.2T Through 2046A new Congressional Budget Office report says the U.S. government will need to spend approximately $1.2 trillion in 2017 dollars to operate, sustain and modernize the country’s nuclear weapons from fiscal years 2017 through 2046.

CBO said Tuesday it estimates $772 billion in costs for the operations, sustainment and upgrades of missiles, submarines, long-range aircraft and other strategic nuclear delivery weapons and systems, while the $25 billion would be for tactical nuclear delivery platforms and weapons over 30 years.

The agency projects $445 billion in costs for nuclear production facilities and laboratories as well as command, control, communications and early-warning systems over the next three decades.

CBO noted that there are nine options that could help manage the costs of U.S. nuclear forces and generate between $27 billion and $139 million in savings over a 30-year period if implemented.

One of the options would delay modernization work on the B-21 bomber aircraft, Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program’s intercontinental ballistic missile portion and interoperable warheads while still meeting the planned force structure.

The report noted that five options would reduce nuclear delivery systems while maintaining the number of deployed warheads based on the 1,500-limit set by the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

The three remaining options would lower the number of nuclear delivery systems and deployed warheads below the limits established by New START, the report added.

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Navy Rear Adm. Lisa Franchetti Nominated for Multiple Commander Roles
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Navy Rear Adm. Lisa Franchetti Nominated for Multiple Commander Roles


Navy Rear Adm. Lisa Franchetti Nominated for Multiple Commander Roles
Lisa Franchetti

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Lisa Franchetti, chief of staff at the Joint Staff’s J-5 directorate, has been nominated to serve as commander of the Sixth Fleet, Task Force Six and Striking and Support Forces NATO.

The Defense Department said Tuesday Franchetti was also nominated as deputy commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and U.S. Naval Forces Africa as well as Joint Force Maritime Component commander in Europe.

She completed at-sea assignments aboard USS Shenandoah, USS Monongahela, USS Moosbrugger, Destroyer Squadron 2, USS Stout and the USS George Washington Strike Group.

Franchetti also held various ashore assignments with the Naval Reserve Center Central Point in Oregon, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, U.S. Naval Academy, Joint Staff J-7, Navy staff and U.S. Navy Forces Korea.

The 32-year Navy veteran also commanded USS Ross and embarked onboard USS John C. Stennis, USS George Washington, USS Theodore Roosevelt, USNS Mercy, Carrier Strike Group 9 and CSG-15.

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Army Soldiers Evaluate New Video Display System for Medium Mine Protected Vehicle Type II
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Army Soldiers Evaluate New Video Display System for Medium Mine Protected Vehicle Type II


Army Soldiers Evaluate New Video Display System for Medium Mine Protected Vehicle Type IIU.S. Army soldiers have tested a new Multi-Functional Video Display system for the Medium Mine Protected Vehicle Type II platform designed to provide commanders and crew members with complete visibility around the vehicle and detect potential explosives.

The service branch said Friday soldiers from the 509th Engineer Company, 5th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade evaluated the MVD monitors and gathered data that can help the Army Operational Test Command integrate the displays on MMPV Type II vehicles.

Route clearance soldiers and operational testers performed assessments on the MVD systems at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.

“We are also collecting data on the reliability, availability, and maintainability of the MVD, so that we can identify any issues causing malfunctions of hardware failure now, rather than after fielding of the equipment,” said Heidi Watts, chief of the USAOTC maneuver support test division.

“The importance of collecting data on the MVD is to verify the usability of the MVD by Soldiers in an operational context … We want to ensure that any issues the Soldiers have with the system are discovered now,” added Maj. Michael Fleischmann, operational research and systems analyst and data project manager for the test.

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