Science & Tech
Defense One Radio, Ep. 205: New heat science and the future of soldiering
An Army researcher unpacks new initiatives to expand research into human performance.
Defense Systems
B-21 spotted in aerial-refueling test flights
The milestone follows a top commander’s warning about aging tankers supporting the new bomber.
Defense Systems
AI-enabled watch towers set to proliferate along the border
GDIT pitches autonomous station with better sensors, more computing power.
Policy
StateChat users move to older AI model as State dumps Anthropic
The chatbot's new model is trained on data only through May 2024, 13 months behind Claude.
Policy
INDOPACOM was all in on Anthropic. Now it’s working to adjust
The administration’s government-wide ban on the company’s AI tools has forced the command to work faster to be “model-neutral.”
Policy
NSA, Cyber Command get a permanent leader, ending 11-month gap
Gen. Joshua Rudd has spent his career largely in special operations and joint command roles.
Threats
Russia-linked hackers appear on Iran war’s cyber front, but their impact is murky
Some experts question the significance of pro-Russia “hacktivist” groups.
Exclusive
Policy
A year into Hegseth’s cuts, defense civilians report ‘degraded performance’ and low morale
And the hiring freeze is still keeping overseas civilians from taking new jobs stateside.
Threats
SecDef leaves Iran war’s timeline in Trump’s hands
The Pentagon is focusing on operational objectives for success, leaving out Trump’s calls for “unconditional surrender” and an “acceptable” new leader.
Science & Tech
New science on heat is changing the future of soldiering
Suffering in the sun doesn’t make better troops.
Business
Anthropic sues DOD, Hegseth, and a dozen other federal agencies
The company asserts that its designation as a supply-chain risk is an illegal retaliation, not an action to protect national security.
Exclusive
Policy
Hegseth presses Defense civilians to deploy for immigration enforcement
"We all think it's absurd," one Army civilian told Defense One.
Ideas
Take the win. Stop the war.
Killing leaders is the easy part. The post-9/11 wars show that it’s what follows that turns into a disaster.
Science & Tech
Meet the startups trying to build military-specific AI
The Anthropic-Pentagon feud revealed a giant gap between what giant frontier models do and what troops actually need.
Ideas
The quantum curtain
What if citizens get unbreakable encryption? Welcome to the latest edition of Fictional Intelligence.
Business