Ideas

As China Rises, the US Must Stop Taking Australia for Granted

Canberra’s and Washington’s strategic preferences for confronting Beijing are diverging. Here’s how to bring them back together.

Defense Systems

Air Force 3-star: “algorithmic warfare” needed for future ISR, combat ops

Artificial intelligence and human-machine warfare will increasingly be vital for Air Force ISR operations as a way to keep pace with the speed and scale of information technology.

Ideas

How Mattis May Get Himself in Trouble With Trump

The secretary of defense could run afoul of his boss if his review of the policy on transgender troops follows the facts to their conclusion.

Ideas

The Quite Rational Basis for North Korea's Japan Overfly

With each new missile test, Pyongyang shakes Tokyo’s confidence in Washington, while accruing valuable data on its own capabilities.

Defense Systems

Video Update 8-31-17: Army reduces WIN-T hardware footprint, slingloads beneath helicopter

Army reduces WIN-T hardware footprint, sling-loads beneath helicopter

Defense Systems

Navy seeks new software tool able to predict insider threat risks

The new software would examine user behavior and develop a potential risk indicator.

Defense Systems

Mattis plans to bolster DIUX

The Pentagon’s DIUX will continue to fast track innovative commercial IT by extending its reach into the private sector.

Ideas

It Takes a Village to Raze an Insurgency

As the Trump Administration reviews its counter-terrorism policies and strategies, it should apply the lessons of the Village Stability Operations program.

Defense Systems

Air Force Research Lab tests new radio tech for GPS-denied environments

A new handheld device for ground forces aggregates radio signals to provide force location data in combat, without GPS.

Threats

How Many US Troops in Afghanistan? Pentagon Changes How It Counts Them

A new accounting method ups the official total in Afghanistan from 8,400 to “approximately” 11,000.  

Defense Systems

DARPA looks beyond Moore's Law

Chip effort targets reconfigurable devices as scaling runs out of steam.

Ideas

Congress Should Do Its Job, and Get Us Out of Yemen’s Civil War

American support for the Saudi-led coalition is getting us nowhere good.

Policy

Trump Directly Counters Mattis, Military, In Tweet on North Korea

‘Talking is not the answer!’ says president, after threatening ‘all options’ following North Korean missile-launch over Japan.

Ideas

Trump Doesn't Have the Authority to Attack North Korea Without Congress

The decision to engage in armed conflict rests with the legislative branch, a requirement that is neither a formality nor outdated.

Ideas

Our Navy is Broken, and That is a Bad Thing

The fleet’s problems stem from decades of flat acquisition budgets and declining ship numbers.

Science & Tech

Why Didn’t the US Shoot Down That North Korean Missile?

The military’s record of hitting intermediate-range missiles is less than perfect. That makes the decision to attempt an intercept much harder.