The Air Force will have a fully integrated, service-wide network by next spring, according to Air Force Space Commander Gen. William Shelton.
Following a growing trend across the military, the Air Force will finish consolidating its disparate networks into the “AFNet” to increase efficiency, reduce maintenance and drive down costs.
“We’ll have a single enterprise network with consistent standards–one that we can defend,” Shelton said at an Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) meeting.
Shelton said Air Force Space Command (AFSPC)–which has been given responsibility for cyber operations and programs within the service–has collapsed 120 network entry points into 16 gateways. AFSPC identified 275 service locations that it plans to move over to AFNet. So far, 570,000 users have migrated to the new network, representing 90 percent of ASPC’s goal.
AFNet will also improve user experience, allowing airmen to use their CAC cards for access from any Air Force location without applying for a new account each time they move.
“We would provide a website that would allow you to update your account as needed,” Shelton said.
The consolidation efforts won’t stop at AFNet, he said. The service plans to look at other commercially available options for email and cloud communication as well as tablets and mobile computing. He called these technologies “unified capabilities which could save millions of dollars.”
Shelton rounded out his speech with a commitment of 39 Air Force teams to Cyber Command, which is charged with defense of the DoD’s networks as well as potential cyber combat. He also said the Air Force was fully dedicated to working with the Army and the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) on the Joint Information Environment–the Pentagon’s vision for a single DoD network enterprise.