Threats

Thousands of US Troops Will Remain in Afghanistan Past Christmas

They won't be home for Christmas. Trump's national security advisor says the president was only expressing a "desire" with that tweet.

Ideas

'Esper's Lie?' I Don't Think So

After nearly a generation of dominating focus on counterinsurgency operations, the U.S. military is underprepared in 2020 for great power competition.

Policy

66 Ways to Beat China in AI: Report

The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence suggests a CTO for the intelligence community; a White House AI council, like the National Space Council; and more.

Ideas

Washington Should Avoid a Self-Inflicted Wound in the Sinai

Withdrawing from the Multinational Force and Observers might be penny-wise, but would certainly be pound-foolish.

Ideas

Will Commanders Trust Their New AI Weapons and Tools?

A study of DOD’s artificial-intelligence efforts reveals a key gap.

Ideas

China or Your Soul? Pompeo’s Thunder Falls Flat on Corporate Ears

Companies keep choosing to serve the Chinese market — and that’s likely not good news for the Pentagon.

Ideas

A 21st-Century Reality Is Dawning on NATO

In today’s security environment, non-kinetic threats pose as grave a danger as kinetic ones.

Defense Systems

Army tests out augmented reality with training

As social distancing becomes the norm, the Army increasingly looks to virtual training.

Defense Systems

DISA touts SETI for small business contracts

The Systems Engineering, Technology and Innovation contract vehicle is part of DISA's effort to consolidate its IT services and has a $7.5 billion ceiling with separate tracks for large and small businesses.

Defense Systems

Pentagon releases long-awaited data strategy

The Defense Department's new data strategy takes on ethics, governance and data standards.

Defense Systems

IC needs workforce reform, Congress says

A new congressional report wants the intelligence community to reform its personnel practices as well as take a few cues from the Defense Department to speed innovation.

Defense Systems

DOD revs up 5G testbeds with $600 million investment

The Defense Department is investing $600 million for at-scale 5G testing of augmented/virtual reality for mission planning and training, smart warehouses and technologies to enhance distributed command and control.

Defense Systems

Famed spy plane gets AI upgrade with Kubernetes

The Air Force has equipped a legacy U-2 surveillance aircraft with machine learning thanks to Kubernetes, an open-source container-orchestration system that automates the application deployment, scaling and management.

Defense Systems

DOD pushing RPA to the next level

The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center is working to develop machine learning models that can go beyond the capabilities of robotic process automation and make decisions about financial transactions.