The U.S. Air Force Intranet Control Weapon System has achieved full operational status, becoming the first cyberspace weapon system to do so.

The AFINC weapon system is designed to control the flow of all external and inter-base traffic through centrally managed gateways. The system is comprised of 16 Gateway Suites and two Integrated Management Suites, and is operated by 26 Network Operations Squadrons.

The weapon system was built to enhance the U.S. Air Force's cybersecurity capabilities, which Air Force officials say is increasingly important.

"Our network is under constant attack and it is a testament to the dedication of our 26th NOS team that our network reliability and traffic flow remains consistently high," 26th Cyberspace Operations Group commander Col. Pamela Woolley said in a statement.

The system replaces and consolidates over 100 regionally managed Air Force network entry points into 16 centrally managed access points in an effort to speed up defensive actions. It serves over one million Air Force users around the world.

The AFINC weapon system was designated as a weapon system by the Air Force Chief of Staff in March 2013 before achieving Initial Operational Capability in May 2014.