Defense Systems
Navy wants small drones that can see in the dark
The service is looking for small tactical unmanned aerial vehicles capable of providing ISR in both day and night operations in adverse environmental conditions.
Threats
Saudi Arabia-Iran Break Threatens Syrian Peace Process
Mere weeks after the two countries backed a unanimous U.N. Security Council resolution, their sectarian-fueled escalation has likely sunk fragile hopes for Syria.
Policy
Swooning for Saudi Arabia
What the Middle East needs is not intensified conflict, as some 2016 contenders advocate, but a series of political compromises to help end the civil wars traumatizing the region.
Threats
Yemen's War Is Nearly Lost in the Din of Surrounding Conflicts
With another ceasefire ended and nearly 3,000 already dead, Yemenis are stuck in a Saudi-Iranian proxy war that has no end in sight.
Defense Systems
Tern gets closer to extending ships' ISR reach at sea
The DARPA-ONR program to develop long-range, vertical-lift drones for smaller ships moves into Phase 3.
Ideas
5 Big National Security Questions for 2016
U.S. policymakers and triggerpullers will confront a long list of foreign policy challenges around the world.
Science & Tech
The Flaw in ISIS's Favorite Messaging App
And what it says about the difficulties around encryption.
Policy
Sudan Cuts Ties with Iran, Widening Middle East's Sunni-Shi'a Divide
The diplomatic fallout from Riyadh's execution of a Shiite cleric is prompting fears of a region-wide sectarian conflict.
Threats
For the First Time, US Makes Russia's List of Top Security Threats
The document, an update of Moscow's 2009 national security strategy, also alleged an 'anti-constitutional coup d’etat' in Ukraine while leaving out any hint of the conflict in Syria.
Defense Systems
Air Force bolsters its cyber ranks by 40 percent
The service is downsizing in many areas, but its cyber capacity continues to grow.
Defense Systems
IG: DOD not keeping track of cloud contracts
Without a standard definition and a comprehensive list of contracts, the department can’t determine if it’s saving money by moving to the cloud, the report says.
Defense Systems
Navy awards large deal to upgrade satellite communications
Raytheon gets a contract that could be worth up to $467 million for Navy Multiband Terminals, which will quadruple capacity while providing anti-jamming features.
Ideas
Why Indonesia is Immune to ISIS
Can lessons from countries like Indonesia be applied to volatile countries in the Middle East?
Business
The US Military: An Alternative to the Brutalities of the Modern Economy
Millions of service members who live on military bases around the world experience a kind of economic and social security foreign to most of America’s middle class.
Ideas
Ronald Reagan’s Disarmament Dream
How the former president’s fantasy about space weapons ruined a plan to eliminate the entire U.S. and Soviet nuclear arsenals.
Threats
African Extremist Group Al-Shebab Shows Trump in Recruitment Video
Video of the GOP frontrunner appeared between old clips of now-deceased al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki.
Threats
Syrian Refugees in Turkey Are Facing the Same Terror They Once Fled
A journalist's death exemplifies a bitter truth: The easiest and closest refuge is not always the safest.
Policy