The Air Force is developing a long-range vision document for cyber space to identify and analyze current and forecasted capabilities, threats, vulnerabilities and consequences across core Air Force missions in order to identify key science and technology (S&T) gaps and opportunities.
In support of the Cyber Vision 2025 study, the Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome Research Site, has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on cyber space S&T research, operational concepts, and mission support innovations to support Air Force projected missions in the near-, mid-, and far-term, according to a Jan. 11 FedBizOpps.gov notice.
The study “will articulate an AF near- (FY2013-15), mid- (FY2016-20), and far-term (FY2021-25) S&T vision to fill gaps, indicating where AF should lead (creating or inventing novel solutions for core AF missions), follow (by adopting, adapting, or augmenting others investments), or watch key technologies,” the notice says. “In alignment with the national security cyber strategy, the study is intended to address cyber S&T across Air Force core missions (air, space, cyber, and command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) including DOTMLPF (Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership and Education, Personnel and Facilities) considerations” to leverage the capabilities and experience of industry, academia, research organizations, government and others.
The service says that it must have “assured cyber advantage” in all of its operational domains, each of which requires “cyber solutions” and “therefore, a portfolio of technologies is required to meet he spectrum of future Air Force requirements,” the notice says.
To maintain its global dominance in the air domain, the Air Force seeks information on how cyber technologies can be defended or employed to ensure air superiority. Some of the cyber technologies that require research in the years ahead to help ensure air superiority include methods for mathematical representation of weapon systems requirements, formal verification that implementations satisfy the security properties of specifications, test and evaluation in contested environments across the entire acquisition life-cycle, secure air-to-air and air-to-ground data links, anti-tamper technologies and more.
In the space domain, continued dominance requires cyber space investments in ground stations, telecommunications hardware, software and protocols, cyber S&T for rocket engines and satellites in space as well as satellite control and data processing centers on the ground.
For the cyber domain, the service wants techniques that will augment human performance to provide force multiplication through cyber space. Of interest is “S&T for Integrated Full Spectrum Cyberspace Operations to develop and demonstrate trusted, validated, verified capabilities capable of delivering a full range of cyber effects and a means to measure and assess the effectiveness and degree of assurance of a delivered cyber effect prior to usage.”
In the C2ISR realm, the Air Force is interested in “unique approaches…in an environment that is not constrained by time, distance, and geographical boundaries.” The service also says that “C2 capabilities for monitoring, assessing, planning, and executing cyber operations need to be designed, developed, and implemented to be interoperable with existing air and space capabilities.”
The opportunity notice also says that new modeling and simulation tools are needed to assess the effectiveness of cyber capabilities and actions.The Air Force is seeking responses to the RFI by Feb. 24. It wants submissions focused on advanced technology solutions in the idea generation or early development stages. [Sol. No. RIK-RFI-12-01. Contact: Lynn White, contracting officer, [email protected], 315-330-4996]