DENVER—Peterson Air Force Base has been passed over for a new cyber warfare center, but the Air Force says the Colorado Springs facility is its second choice.
The Air Force announced Friday that Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, is its preferred alternative for the new operation, which will defend Air Force computer networks against attacks and conduct some offensive operations.
The Air Force designated Peterson as the “reasonable alternative.”
Both Lackland and Peterson will go through an environmental review and the Air Force says the choice won’t be final until the review is complete.
The cyber warfare command will employ about 400 people including the commander’s staff and an around-the-clock operations center.
Peterson is headquarters of the U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
The Northcom is responsible for the military component of homeland security. NORAD, a joint U.S.-Canada command, monitors for air and space threats to North America.
Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., said the presence of Northcom and NORAD made Peterson a logical place for the cyber warfare center. Udall said he was “deeply disappointed” that Peterson wasn’t chosen.
Four other bases were also in the running for the cyber warfare center: Barksdale in Louisiana, Langley in Virginia, Offutt in Nebraska and Scott in Illinois.
The Air Force originally intended the new unit to be a separate, major command known as the Air Force Cyber Command but later scaled it back to a unit with the existing Air Force Space Command.
