Science & Tech
The US Military Is Making Lasers That Create Voices out of Thin Air
Within three years, the Pentagon's non-lethal weapons lab hopes to have a direct energy weapon that can produce an effect like a haunted walkie-talkie or the biblical burning bush.
Business
Air Force Secretary: Boeing Is Giving Its Tanker Short Shrift
Pointing to the KC-46 program’s latest problems, Heather Wilson says the company is focusing too much on its civil aircraft.
Ideas
Five Myths About Pentagon Weapons Programs
As the service secretaries converge on Capitol Hill to talk acquisition reform, it’s important to sort fact from fiction.
Ideas
The Iraq War and the Inevitability of Ignorance
The U.S. is destined to keep overlearning the lessons of the last conflict.
Defense Systems
Military looks to boost pay for cyber talent
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said $37,000 may be sufficient for Hill staffers answering the phone, but is much too low for military cyber specialists.
Science & Tech
Facebook Just Blocked This Cambridge Analytica Affiliate. Why Does It Still Have a State Department Contract?
Strategic Communications Laboratories worked with Cambridge Analytica, which reportedly used social-media data to target likely Trump voters.
Science & Tech
China’s New Frontiers in Dystopian Tech
Facial-recognition technologies are proliferating, from airports to bathrooms.
Ideas
On Torture, America Must Reckon with More than Gina Haspel
From allies’ mistrust to the fate of the 9/11 detainees, the U.S. legacy of atrocity still corrodes national security.
Science & Tech
The Pentagon Wants AI To Reveal Adversaries’ True Intentions
The U.S. military is looking to enlist game theory and artificial intelligence to fight tomorrow’s unconventional warfare tactics.
Policy
What's Next for Trump's Border Wall?
This week, the president inspected eight prototypes, but his administration still has a long way to go before bringing his campaign pledge to fruition.
Defense Systems
Navy awards contract for unmanned tech prototype
Alion Science and Technology receives a $73 million contract to help the Navy develop prototype technologies for use on unmanned platforms.
Science & Tech
NSA Pick Will Develop Cyber Retaliation Plans But Don’t Expect Government to Use Them
The other options for deterring cyberattacks aren't much better, though.
Ideas
There Are More and More Threats that Militaries Can't Stop. People's Forces Can Help
Populations are not fragile flowers – far from it. Treating them as a national-security resource can boost a society's resiliency, and even its deterrence.
Defense Systems
Why DOD needs more than OTAs to fix acquisition
The Air Force materiel commander says organizational culture matters more than novel procurement authorities when it comes to reforming cumbersome processes.
Defense Systems