Photo By Sgt. Matthew Sprowl | Royal Thai Army cyber personnel conduct cyber operations during a cyber exercise as...... read more read more
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RAYONG, Thailand — Within moments, coordinated cyberattacks shut down an air defense radar and an electrical grid. An air traffic control tower is overwhelmed in a distributed denial-of-service attack. Logistics are interrupted, the flow of information is staunched, and a cruise missile slips past, striking its target.
It’s a plausible scenario simulated during Exercise Cobra Gold 2026’s Cyber Exercise. The CYBEREX comprises more than 150 cyber personnel from eight participating nations, all working together against a fictitious enemy seeking to disrupt computer systems and gain the upper hand in combat.
The CYBEREX is one of the many events that make up Cobra Gold. Cobra Gold is the Indo-Pacific’s largest annual military exercise in mainland Asia, co-hosted by the U.S. and Thailand. It brings together participants from multiple nations for military training and humanitarian projects, thereby strengthening regional partnerships and demonstrating the U.S.'s commitment to Indo-Pacific security.
“Tactical Cyber Operations have operational-level impact. It’s really important to translate tactical cyber operations into the operational level,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Paul Lucero, assistant director of operations, with 262d Cyberspace Operations Squadron, 252d Cyberspace Operations Group, 194th Wing, Washington Air National Guard. “If not, it’s cyber doing it for the sake of cyber, not to support the commanders’ mission,” he said. Lucero further explained that this year's theme for the CYBEREX is integration, translation and realism.
Integration: focuses on moving cyber into joint all-domain operations. Linking cyber to how commanders move forces, sustain operations and communications. Translation: emphasizes reporting the operational impact of tactical actions so that supported commanders understand what changed and why it matters. Realism: centers on matching the scenario to real-world tactics, with an opposing force coordinated through the exercise control group.
The opposing force for the exercise was made up of participants from all eight partner nations. They employed a curated set of recent, common exploits and attack types to replicate what cyber personnel may face in a real-world scenario.
“It's no longer a matter of if you will be breached,” said Lucero. “It is when
| Date Taken: | 03.02.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 03.06.2026 00:51 |
| Story ID: | 559514 |
| Location: | RAYONG, TH |
| Web Views: | 94 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Integrated Operations: Cobra Gold 2026 integrates cyber operations into larger exercise, by SGT Matthew Sprowl, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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