Science & Tech

Why the Navy & Air Force Can't Get Lasers Across the 'Valley of Death'

A new GAO report details missing links in efforts to move directed-energy weapons from the lab to the field.

Business

Space Symposium Conference Wire 1: All About Launches

The country's biggest space-focused conference gets underway in a year that's "all about launches."

Science & Tech

A ‘ChatGPT’ For Satellite Photos Already Exists

Using advanced generative AI and a massive dataset of Earth images, it’s possible to discover objects almost anywhere in just hours.

Policy

Pentagon Lags on Software-Buying Reforms, GAO says

DOD has yet to implement any of the 2018-19 recommendations of the Defense Science Board, and more besides.

Policy

This Agency’s Declassification Work Could Be a Model for Others

A new paper, based on consultations with government officials and others, looks at what the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has done in recent years.

Ideas

Biden Must Resist Calls to Send Cluster Munitions to Ukraine

Transferring the weapons may bring tactical benefits but would be a strategic disaster.

Threats

Could Putin Draft a Big New Conscript Army? Not Easily, Observers Say

Efforts to streamline conscription can’t overcome political and training obstacles, they say.

Ideas

Is the US in a Space Race Against China?

If so, it's a pretty one-sided contest so far.

Defense Systems

NSA Pushes Eavesdropping Law, Hits TikTok, Braces for AI-Boosted Attacks

AI will help malicious actors “to be better or faster,” says the spy agency’s cybersecurity director.

Business

Boeing Eyes Summer Flight Tests for Delayed Training Jet, Citing ‘Progress’ on Ejection-Seat Woes

The company says it’s almost ready to test-fly the Air Force’s T-7A Red Hawk, but lawmakers are impatient.

Ideas

The NSA’s Brain Drain Has a Silver Lining

Agency leaders should use former employees to recruit new talent and cement public-private working relationships.

Science & Tech

How One Simulation Maker Is Adding AI, Drone Tactics

BISim is updating its widely used Virtual Battle Space products to reflect developments from Ukraine to Silicon Valley.