Science & Tech
As combat evolves, leaders seek not ‘super-athletes’ but ‘human weapon systems’
The military wants to measure and build the ability to perform missions, not just do pushups.
DOE seeks batteries with four times the juice
Six teams will get money to build manufacturable prototypes in two years.
China is building ‘full-stack’ defense-innovation cities
While the U.S. struggles to add rare-earth factories and drone-test ranges, Beijing is creating them in clusters.
The Pentagon leans into drone swarms with a $100M challenge
An Ender’s Game challenge illustrates the U.S. military's evolving approach to AI.
Grok is in, ethics are out in Pentagon’s new AI-acceleration strategy
Seven projects are to lead the charge to embed artificial intelligence ever more deeply in military affairs.
Quantum cameras could remake space-based intelligence
A Boston startup is getting ready to test a new imagery method for orbital satellites.
Lightning Lab gives Pacific Army division drone-building capabilities on the front lines
The small group of soldiers can produce gear—and then immediately take feedback to make it better.
Marine Corps picks industry team to create a robot wingman of its own
Northrop will integrate systems on Kratos’ XQ-58 Valkyrie drone.
The right-to-repair fight could make or break US troops’ robot-war plans
Contracts that prevent battlefield repair, mods are hindering troops’ lethality, operators and experts say.
The Pentagon wants a common network for its counter-drone systems
The Army-led task force wants candidates by early next year.
Special operators seek larger ranges for electronic warfare and drone development and training
“We're going to start having some of these uncomfortable discussions,” said one official.
Building post-quantum gear is hard. A new partnership aims to make it easier
A European chipmaker and software firm are offering shortcuts to incorporating heavyweight encryption.
Defense One Radio, Ep. 200: Paul Scharre explains the global AI arms race
The former Army Ranger explores how AI might reshape drone warfare, America's tech race with China, Russia's war in Ukraine, and much more.
Congress supports bare minimum on Navy’s F/A-XX, while fully backing Air Force’s F-47
Appropriators and other lawmakers have pushed for the Navy’s next-gen fighter, but the latest NDAA offers only enough to keep the nascent program warm.
More AI tools coming in days or weeks, Pentagon R&D chief says
Wide deployment of artificial intelligence now sits atop Emil Michael’s critical priorities.
Featured eBooks
Ukraine is helping the US catch up with modern warfare—for now
Observers say broader cooperation could help both sides, if the Trump administration allows it.
Counter-drone warfare at scale? Army demo shows it’s getting closer
In just a few days, Project Flytrap stood up a defensive network in northern Germany.
How the Army’s most tech-forward units are practicing for war
A two-week exercise simulated island battles—and put some 75 new technologies to the test.
