Defense Systems
JEDI contract on hold for DOD chief's review
The Pentagon will not award the $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud contract until Defense Secretary Mark Esper reviews the program.
Ideas
Ep. 52: Ali Wyne on the US, China and 'Great Power Competition'
Ali has been giving America’s so-called Great Power Competition with Russia and China a great deal of thought lately — especially when it comes to China.
Threats
Iran Has Hundreds of Naval Mines. The US Has a Handful of Old Minesweepers
The Navy's minesweeping fleet may once again be called into action, but their sailors say the ships are too old and broken to do the job.
Science & Tech
How Dissidents Are Using Shortwave Radio to Broadcast News Into China
Pro-democracy forces are locked in a cat-and-mouse game with the Chinese government, playing out on the airwaves, the internet and across the globe.
Business
With China, Russia in Mind, Pentagon Adding Stealthy Cruise Missiles
Lockheed Martin is building a new factory to accommodate the military’s demand.
Ideas
Consider a National-Team Approach to the Next ICBM
Boeing’s decision not to bid on the Air Force’s replacement program doesn’t have to be a disaster.
Ideas
The American Exception
The United States is not the only nation to suffer from white supremacism, but in America, it has proved uniquely deadly.
Defense Systems
OTAs primed for growth
The Pentagon and DHS are leading the way in using other transaction authority to leverage emerging technologies.
Threats
How Many Attacks Will It Take Until the White-Supremacist Threat Is Taken Seriously?
FBI Director Christopher Wray said recently that the bureau doesn’t “investigate the ideology, no matter how repugnant. We investigate violence.”
Policy
Why Trump Cares About the Pentagon’s Mega-Cloud — and Why That Terrifies Those Who Want It
Breaking up the $10 billion JEDI network project will hurt the U.S. military’s effort to speed data to troops, its fans argue.
Science & Tech
Military-Style Surveillance Technology Is Being Tested in American Cities
In the eyes of the law, there’s no difference between a smartphone photo taken through an airplane window and one taken by an ultra-powerful camera in a helicopter hovering over your backyard.
Ideas
Ep. 51: Magnus Nordenman on Russia, the U.S., and "The New Battle for the Atlantic"
Magnus Nordenman explains how America's strategic and operational environment in the North Atlantic has changed since the Cold War, and quite a bit more.
Ideas
Don’t Peg Troop Withdrawals to the Political Calendar
Reductions in the U.S. presence should be tied to conditions on the ground in Afghanistan.
Science & Tech
Esper Puts JEDI Contract on Hold for Review
It’s unclear whether the new defense secretary's review will affect the contract’s timeline.
Ideas
But What About China?
To treat great-power competition as an afterthought is irresponsible, even dangerous. The 2020 presidential candidates did just that.
Science & Tech