Air Force moves to boost cyber and electronic warfare efforts

The Air Force plans to award a sole-source contract with a New Mexico university to boost the service’s hybrid warfare training.

The announcement comes as the service is embracing the integration of electronic and physical fighting tactics.

In a Nov. 28 announcement, the Air Force said it would partner with the New Mexico Institution of Mining and Technology to establish a center for the research and development of methods to merge cyber and physical warfare.

The Air Force described an “urgent need for a cyber-kinetic infrastructure” and to evaluate the integration of electronic and physical effects. In particular, Air Force said it was seeking “techniques by which objects and events can be sensed or manipulated via transducers and kinetic actuators on cyber-connected devices.”

Ranges that are available do not have “credible cyber system capabilities to support regular use,” the announcement said.