Policy
After NSA firings, will Trump appoint a loyalist to lead spy agency?
“No one, Republican or Democrat, wants to bring back" the domestic-surveillance abuses of the 1970s, one former NSA official said.
Business
Can Navy warships follow aviators’ path to 80%-deployable rates?
Leaders say the keys are planning better, stockpiling parts—and hiring thousands of shipyard workers.
Business
US weapons support for Ukraine doesn’t compete with Taiwan goals: report
FDD authors say America can continue to arm three partners at once—if it rebuilds its factories.
Ideas
Don’t waste this crisis, Europe: consolidate your defense industry
Turn your excess national defense champions into continental ones.
Ideas
No TikTok deal at all is better than a bad one
And it’s high time to prepare for the next time an app threatens national security.
Policy
‘What a mess for me and many others’: DOD’s murky hiring freeze has civilians in limbo
Some employees are still living in hotels, their belongings shipped overseas.
Science & Tech
Defense One Radio, Ep. 177: Army chief Gen. Randy George
We conclude our interview series of military service chiefs with the general in charge of the Army.
Policy
Trump fires head of NSA and Cyber Command
Gen. Timothy Haugh’s removal was spurred by far-right activist Laura Loomer, who, earlier Thursday, reportedly urged the president to terminate multiple National Security Council staffers.
Science & Tech
What will quantum computing actually look like?
DARPA picks 15 companies to detail their approaches.
Threats
How China is expanding its anti-satellite arsenal
The Space Force chief doesn’t like the “curves” of how China is progressing vs the U.S.—and says he doesn’t have the funding to reverse it.
Exclusive
Science & Tech
Navy expands use of AI for target spotting, tracking
Two warships will test prototypes of Rebellion Defense’s IRIS system next year.
Business
A shipbuilder leans into lasers and emerging tech
HII CEO touts mission-systems business, downplays tariffs’ effects, and worries about the federal workforce.
Threats
Denmark's naval modernization plan reflects threats from Russia, US
Copenhagen aims to buy one vessel to protect undersea cables and six or more that might defend Greenland.
Ideas
We tried ‘fighting China’ with lower budgets. It didn’t go well.
Tabletop exercises hosted by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments offer one big lesson for the fiscal 2026 spending plan.
Policy
US-Europe divorce unlikely—absent a new crisis
The European Union wants more defense autonomy from the United States. But they still want a partnership with Washington.
Ideas