The 65th Cyberspace Squadron, is a unit of Delta 6, headquartered at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
Mission: Deliver persistent cyberspace defense and innovative technology to protect and assure space command and control, and Western range launch operations, in defense of our nation and its allies.
Mission Areas: Achieving full operational capability for Space Delta 5 - Combined Space Operations Center; operate and maintain CSpOC mission systems; protect and defend launch mission systems for Space Launch Delta 30. Located at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., the 65th Cyberspace Squadron builds, operates, sustains, protects, and defends computer systems that support the mission of Space Delta 5, the CSpOC, CJFSCC, and Space Launch Delta 30.
The 65th CYS consists of more than 100 military, civilians and contractors spread across three mission areas that conduct Defensive Cyberspace Operations and on nearly 50 networks and mission systems, as well as perform configuration management and information assurance activities for those systems. The 65th CYS also has a dedicated engineering and integration team that develops engineers and deploys new capabilities for the supported organizations to ensure space operators continue to provide command and control on the cutting edge of technology.
Finally, the 65th CYS is responsible for providing cyberspace defense on the mission systems supporting the CSpOC’s C2 systems and SLD 30 launch missions. The 65th CYS performs analysis of the configurations and scans of the network, develops, and then implements cyber defense plans, and is prepared to find and defeat malicious cyberspace actors on its assigned terrain.
History:
The 65th CYS traces its heritage to the 614th Space Communications Squadron (SCS), activated on Jan. 23, 2004, in order to align communications support with the Joint Space Operations Center. The 614th SCS was redesignated as the 614th Air and Space Communications Squadron (ACOMS) on June 11, 2011, in order to standardize with the Air Force’s Air and Space Operations Center organization. On June 23, 2021, the 614th ACOMS was officially deactivated, and the 65th CYS (USSF) was activated in order to reflect the new mission of the unit. The name change signaled alignment with Space Operation Command’s recognition of the importance of defending cyberspace terrain. The 65th CYS built a new flight, the Cyber Protection Flight, to perform this new mission area. In order to consolidate cyberspace operations at Vandenberg SFB into a single unit, the 65th CYS absorbed the Mission Defense Team, performing Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) for the Western Launch and Telemetry Range System (WLTRS). It now conducts DCO across three mission areas under two mission partners.
(Current as of Feb 2024)