Most discussion of cyberdefense remains rooted in questions of protection of critical national infrastructure. Yet if a cyberthreat exists that requires a defense, it is axiomatic that there is potential for offensive cyberweapons, a few of which are beginning to emerge from the shadows.

As a Royal Marine warrant officer in Y Sqdn., 3 Commando Brig.’s electronic warfare (EW) unit, Gavin O’Connell became convinced during tours in Afghanistan in 2002 and Iraq in 2003 that EW was being squandered as a capability. He saw the need to better integrate EW within a wider signals intelligence (sigint) and intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (Istar) perspective.

Changing combat conditions in Afghanistan and the advent of high-resolution pod-mounted sensors have seen a surge in fighter planes being used for a new type of recon activity known as non-traditional intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (NTISR).