DETERMINING ELECTRONIC AND CYBER ATTACK RISK LEVEL FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT IN A CONTESTED ENVIRONMENT
Abstract
During operations in a contested air environment, adversary electronic warfare (EW) and cyber-attack capability will pose a high level of risk to friendly operational objectives if they are highly dependent on unmanned aerial systems (UAS) mission completion. A UAS EW/Cyber Attack Risk Assessment Matrix is developed using Air Force risk management principles to assess the risk level of three different likely courses of action: low, medium, or high dependence on UAS platforms for overall mission accomplishment. A medium dependence on UAS, considering the strengths, vulnerabilities, and employment of both manned and unmanned platforms, would most often be the preferred way of fully leveraging the abilities of both systems to give the best chance of accomplishing mission objectives. The risk matrix provided in the paper is a tool that can provide commanders insight into the EW/Cyber aspect UAS mission risk, but it should remain open-ended and flexible to allow for continuous assessment of a changing operational environment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1040702
Entities
People
- Thomas E Hay
Organizations
- Air Command and Staff College