Pentagon seeks to rapidly build up information-warfare force

On the same subject

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  August 23, 2018 | International, C4ISR

  Here’s how the Army is tackling AI

  By: Mark Pomerleau The Army is “all in” on the Department of Defense's larger efforts to harness the power of artificial intelligence. Speaking before an audience Aug. 22 at TechNet Augusta, Army CIO Lt. Gen. Bruce Crawford said the Army is on board with the larger efforts the department is taking, such as building out the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center and crafting a DoD AI strategy. DoD's CIO, Dana Deasy, speaking Aug. 13 at the DoDIIS conference in Omaha, Nebraska, said DoD delivered its AI strategy to Congress, including the plan to stand up the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (an unclassified version of the strategy will be released later this year). Deasy noted that the center will deliver new AI capabilities and concepts that will support the DoD's missions and business functions. It will also bring traditional and nontraditional innovators together in a way that's never been seen before, though Deasy did not provide many details. Full article: https://www.c4isrnet.com/show-reporter/technet-augusta/2018/08/22/heres-how-the-army-is-tackling-ai/

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  December 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Sweden ups defense budget 40% due to regional tensions

  By: The Associated Press STOCKHOLM — Sweden's parliament on Tuesday approved a 40 percent increase in the defense budget for 2021-2025 because of tensions in the Baltic Sea region in recent years, with officials saying Russia is the main reason for the move. The 349-member Riksdag assembly approved the largest hike in 70 years, bringing the annual defense budget by 2025 to 89 billion kronor (U.S. $11 billion). Defence Minister Peter Hultquist told the assembly before the series of votes that “it is the largest investment since the 1950s.” The proposal was put forward in October by Sweden's two-party Social Democrat-Green Party minority government, and it received immediate backing from two smaller opposition groups. The government described it as sending a signal after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, repeated airspace violations by Russian military aircraft in the neighboring Baltics and a military buildup in Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad, which sits across the Baltic Sea from Sweden. “There is much to suggest that Russia's military capabilities in absolute terms will increase throughout the next 10-year period,” the adopted proposal read. The plan will see the armed forces grow from the current 55,000 positions to 90,000 by 2030. Several disbanded regiments will be reestablished and the number of conscripts will increase to 8,000 annually, which is a doubling compared with 2019. The Navy will receive new equipment and there will be upgrades in armament. Sweden currently spends 1.1 percent of gross domestic product on defense. Guidelines issued by NATO, of which Sweden isn't a member, advise that members spend 2 percent, although many do not achieve that target. In December 2017, Sweden decided to establish the nation's first new military regiment since World War II — a unit of 350 soldiers based on the strategically important Baltic Sea island of Gotland. In the same year, Sweden also introduced a selective military draft for men and women, having previously abolished a men-only draft in 2010. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/12/15/sweden-ups-defense-budget-40-due-to-regional-tensions/

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  May 13, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  EU’s top diplomat warns against defense cuts

  BRUSSELS — The European Union's top diplomat is warning member countries not to slash defense spending as their economies buckle under pressure from the coronavirus, as the disease could spark security challenges. After chairing a video conference of defense ministers on Tuesday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said it was clear the pandemic is very likely to deteriorate the security environment in the years ahead. Borrell said as the crisis also hits the economy, it's important to secure the necessary funding for security and defense. Talks between the 27 EU member countries over their next long-term budget have been blocked for more than a year, well before the coronavirus hit Europe. Cuts to defense funds in that spending package were already under consideration. Given the impact of the disease, that seems even more likely now. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/05/12/eus-top-diplomat-warns-against-defense-cuts/