by Katherine Morgan
In modern conflicts, cyber space has emerged as a primary domain of warfare—an invisible but decisive battlefield that operates far from the traditional front lines. Ensuring constant cyber warfare superiority demands the ability to always be ready to pivot. The U.S. Army continues its momentum to adjust its portfolios and programs, when necessary, embrace more agile acquisition methods and devise innovative methods to swiftly funnel capabilities to Soldiers while finessing existing processes.
Establishment of Project Manager Cyber Warfare To perpetuate its mission to propel the Army’s modernization efforts and specifically back the https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.defense.gov%2F2025%2FNov%2F10%2F2003819439%2F-1%2F-1%2F1%2FTRANSFORMING-THE-DEFENSE-ACQUISITION-SYSTEM-INTO-THE-WARFIGHTING-ACQUISITION-SYSTEM-TO-ACCELERATE-FIELDING-OF-URGENTLY-NEEDED-CAPABILITIES-TO-OUR-WARRIORS.PDF, Project Manager (PM) Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) and PM Cyber and Space (C&S) recently combined their portfolios to constitute PM Cyber Warfare (CW). PM CW delivers innovative and dominant cyberspace capabilities and tailored information technology solutions to national, joint and allied partners to provide a decisive, warfighting information advantage. PM CW intends to be recognized as the leader within the cyberspace domain delivering innovative, integrated and cost-effective solutions that advance the Soldier’s ability to carry out effective cyber operations.
“To dominate the modern battlefield, the Army must operate a unified cyber portfolio. Offense and defense are not separate missions; they are a continuous feedback loop where lessons from one directly strengthen the other,” said Laurence Mixon, deputy capability program executive, intelligence and spectrum warfare. “Integrating these capabilities maximizes our operational visibility and allows us to rapidly equip cyber forces. This agility ensures our cyber warriors have the cutting-edge tools required to execute decisive, high-impact operations against any adversary.”
PM CW is responsible for acquiring, deploying and operating a full range of cyber capabilities, including innovative and dominant offensive and defensive cyber platforms, tools and tailored information technology solutions for Army partners, including United States Cyber Command and Army Cyber Command. Through rapid prototyping, deployable and cloud-based solutions, cyber analytics, threat detection and Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber & Intelligence acquisition services, PM CW strives to deliver integrated and cost-effective solutions to the Soldier.
Unifying cyber operations capabilities will expedite critical processes and stimulate collaboration when executing offensive and defensive cyber warfare tactics. Integrating PM DCO with PM C&S specifically transitions both PMs from siloed functions to a more unified entity, resulting in more effective cyber operations. This strategic alignment solidifies the Army’s cyber defense by ensuring that critical resources are better harnessed to strengthen and shield cyber warriors. A combined offensive and defensive cyber warfare portfolio allows commanders to better defend against adversarial networks, secure friendly communications both at home and with allies abroad, and shape operational environments well in advance of being authorized to carry out cyber missions. PM CW will undertake the acquisition, deployment and operation of a full spectrum of cyber capabilities that protect critical assets and infrastructure to maintain operational effectiveness, deter cyber threats and discourage malign actors from attacking U.S. networks.
Faster and More Secure Fusing offensive and defensive cyber capabilities enables the Army to quickly provide innovative and integrated cyber operations technologies to cyber warriors, yielding a decisive information advantage for cyberspace superiority in multidomain operations. It also multiplies opportunities to collaborate with industry by fostering competition and offering easier procurement pathways.
“This organizational structure will actively forge synergy among the capabilities in the Cyber Warfare portfolio,” said Col. David Bergmann, PM CW. “We forecast that housing both defensive and offensive cyber operations under the same roof will better allow PM Cyber Warfare to treat the cyber domain as a more cohesive battlefield. Once the integration transpires, we predict that defensive and offensive cyber programs will share more connections with similar agile acquisition resources. We also anticipate that this will expand the use of flexible contracting mechanisms expediting the handoff of specialized software, successful and scaled-up pilot programs, and commercial off-the-shelf solutions directly to cyber defenders.”
The establishment of Cyber Warfare also opens new doors for the Army to collaborate with the commercial technology sector and continuously finesse its capabilities to outpace ever-evolving threats from adversaries. PM CW can quickly work with commercial technology industry partners by utilizing flexible acquisition pathways and shifting resources based on technological maturity and evolving threats. Through the establishment of PM CW, teams will possess the ability to employ a more holistic approach with the private sector and commercial technology partners to supply higher-caliber resources for the cyber warrior.
CONCLUSION To protect national security and guarantee modern warfighting readiness, the Army must sustain a strategic advantage in cyberspace. To optimally propel the warfighter, the U.S. Army persistently champions an urgent transition toward accelerated, highly adaptable software engineering and procurement to field hardened and decisive cyber warfare capabilities. The modern battlespace dictates relentless ingenuity in cyber defense.
Cyber warfare capabilities defend and attack cyber threats to protect the U.S. homeland while also enabling the Army to maintain secure systems, networks and the critical infrastructure for national security. PM CW will continue its mission to strengthen the Army’s offensive and defensive cyber posture by executing fast, efficient and agile cyber operations.
For more information about PM CW, go to https://cpeisw.army.mil/pm-cw/.
KATHERINE MORGAN leads the strategy and execution of PM CW’s public affairs priorities as a strategic communications specialist. She holds a B.A. in communications from Mississippi State University and specializes in public affairs, strategic communications, digital marketing, media relations, content creation, branding and client services.