Center of Excellence for Aerospace Cyberdefense

Most contemporary power struggles, crises, and conflicts are evolving in the digital sphere, making cyberspace a field of confrontation in its own right. A substrate without which virtually no activity is possible in other environments (land, air, sea, outer space), cyberspace has intersections with other fields of confrontation.

The increase in cyberattacks in recent years, particularly on military systems (800 in 2018), illustrates the potential scope for attackers whose four main objectives are espionage, illicit trafficking, destabilization, and sabotage. These "cyberattacks are likely to seriously harm the nation's interests at any time; our country must adapt its cyberdefense posture with the ambition of better enforcing its digital sovereignty." (Strategic Cyberdefense Review 2018)

"In the military domain, the growing dependence of weapons and command systems on digital technologies makes them increasingly vulnerable to this threat." » (Strategic Review 2017)

The Air and Space Force, due to the high-tech level of the weapons and information systems it deploys, is by nature highly involved in the development of military cyber defense and cybersecurity.

The French Air and Space Force Academy trains the aviation officers of tomorrow, developing solid expertise in key technological fields for the Air and Space Force, foremost among them cyber defense.

It has a teaching and research program already heavily involved in cyber defense (aerospace cyber resilience chair, cyber simulation platform, initial training for officer cadets), and numerous partnerships in higher education and the aerospace industry. Recognizing that the unique nature of aerospace systems requires specialized expertise, the Air and Space Academy embarked in 2018 on the development of a Cyberdefense Center of Excellence (CCE) for the aerospace sector.

The center's expertise is based on the School's ability to mobilize partners from all walks of life, leveraging its own human resources, with a view to achieving an overall strategic objective: mastering cyber defense in the conduct of air operations.

Thus, the CCE will constitute a true incubator at the interface of an ecosystem, capable of bringing together joint projects at the intersection of research, industry, and military stakeholders.

Without replacing existing civilian and military organizations in the cyber domain, it aims to leverage the unique position of the Air and Space Academy: in direct contact with military experts in the air force, research, and economic stakeholders. Consequently, the CCE's missions are structured around three pillars :

• Supporting the training provided at the French Air and Space Force Academy : providing initial or advanced skills to air force officers through teaching, projects, or internships, implementing pre-service qualifying training, and developing professional training programs open to the civilian world. In this area, the CCE is contributing to the creation of a specialized Master's degree in cybersecurity, which is expected to open in September 2019 ;
• Being a key player in innovation: ensuring ongoing technological monitoring, building diverse partnerships (Air and Space Force, joint forces, Ministry of the Armed Forces, civilian companies), and hosting research and simulation projects while remaining attentive to the needs of the forces to propose innovative solutions ;
• Maintain close ties with operational cyber defense stakeholders, contributing to their operational readiness, with the aim of fueling innovation and enhancing the training pillar. This experience sharing will contribute to the RETEX (Return on Experience) chains of the Air and Space Force and the joint forces on aerospace cyber.

All of these activities are based on a high-performance Hynesim simulation platform. Interoperable with other military schools, this platform can generate complete and complex simulated computing environments, used for training, research, and experimentation. Its hybrid features also offer the possibility of connecting a virtual network to real equipment.