Threats
The US Just Launched a Long-Outlawed Missile. Welcome to the Post-INF World
Sunday’s test sent a ground-launched missile more than 500 kilometers, a test that would have been illegal last month.
Defense Systems
DISA streamlines cloud authorizations
Defense Department mission partners and service components can now host DOD Impact Level 2 data on FedRAMP-compliant clouds without waiting for an explicit written authorization from DOD.
Science & Tech
DARPA Wants AI to Help Make Weapons More Hacker-Proof
Artificial intelligence might speed up the design of arms and other network-connected platforms — and suggest improvement that humans haven’t yet conceived.
Science & Tech
The US Army Is Struggling to Staff Its Cyber Units: GAO
Congress' watchdog concluded that the Army launched its new cyber units before trying to determine whether the concept is affordable, supportable, and sustainable.
Ideas
Ep. 53: Civilian casualty reporting and the war on ISIS with Alexa O’Brien and Chris Woods
Why has coverage been so lacking? A new report offers some answers.
Ideas
It Matters Whether Americans Call Afghanistan a Defeat
The public’s judgment about whether the United States won or lost the war will affect civilian-military relations for years to come.
Ideas
‘One Belt One Road’ Is Just a Marketing Campaign. And Yet...
China’s giant project is a poorly coordinated branding effort posing as an infrastructure initiative. But it is also a new kind of strategic challenge for the United States.
Science & Tech
Face-Recognition Tool Misidentified State Lawmakers as Criminals: ACLU
The group tested Amazon's Rekognition on photos of California's lawmakers. The company says the test wasn't fair.
Science & Tech
The Aging Spacecraft of Deep Space
NASA is rationing watts to keep its oldest mission going.
Ideas
Trump’s Foreign-Policy Crisis Arrives
Competition between the U.S. and China may be inevitable, but if Trump and Xi mishandle the Hong Kong crisis, they could lose the ability to calibrate.
Policy
General’s Sexual Assault Accuser Was Deemed a ‘Toxic, Self-Centered Abuser,’ New Docs Reveal
Hundreds of previously unseen pages of two investigations paint Army Col. Kathryn Spletstoser as an abusive coworker with motive for revenge against Gen. John Hyten.
Defense Systems
Navy boosts CIO role, adds more cyber and data authorities
The Navy is establishing a new special assistant to the secretary for information management/CIO to enforce cybersecurity standards, have a say in IT acquisition and develop data and digital strategies.
Science & Tech
Pentagon’s AI Center is Developing Tech that Could Revolutionize Disaster Response
It’s another example of federal automation at work.
Science & Tech
Air Force Tests Contraption That Can Turn Any Plane Into a Robot Plane
Scientists say new ROBOpilot completed a two-hour test flight, essentially turning a manned plane into a drone.
Ideas
In Afghanistan, Is Sirajuddin Haqqani Ready for Peace?
In peace talks with the Afghan Taliban, the United States should not fail to address the evolution of the Haqqani-al-Qaeda nexus.
Ideas
The End of the Dan Coats Era
Whoever takes over from Coats permanently could serve as a needed voice of clarity about America’s biggest challenges—or see the intelligence community further sidelined.
Science & Tech
Energy Dept. Is Updating Its Cyber Defense Assessment Tool
Created in 2012 to help protect the nation's electrical grid, the tool helps government and industry compare their preparations to established standards.
Defense Systems