Support to Information Operations (IO) Capabilities

Support to Information Operations (IO) Capabilities falls under Budget Activity 6, RDT&E Management Support. The specific goal of this program is to provide the Department of Defense (DoD) with a closed-loop network, known as the Joint Information Operations Range (JIOR), that enables mission rehearsal, training, testing, and experimentation in a realistic threat representative environment. This supports various mission areas including Information Operations (IO), Electronic Warfare (EW), Offensive Cyber Operations (OCO), Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO), Spectrum Warfare, Space Operations, and Special Operations Forces. The program aims to train and certify Cyber Mission Forces on the full spectrum of cyber weapons and capabilities without risk of observation or fratricide. Additionally, it supports Combatant Commands, Services and Agencies (C/S/A's) and key allied partners in testing deployment and gaining insights into advanced cyberspace and Electronic Warfare (EW) capabilities under current and future operational environments.

The program's objectives include providing a secure environment for conducting mission rehearsal, training, testing, and experimentation in support of various information operations and cyber capabilities. It also aims to integrate available cyberspace ranges with the training/test communities to provide access to critical infrastructure, cyber targets, internet traffic, and opposing forces. Furthermore, the program supports Presidential policy and CJCS mandates for training, certification, and recertification of over 6000 cyber mission forces and DoD/Interagency cyber vulnerability assessments. The budget allocation for this program is focused on research, development, test and evaluation efforts to sustain and modernize the installations or operations required for general research in these areas.