Defense Systems
Future of unmanned capabilities: MALE vs HALE
While the U.S. has had a lot of success with medium-altitude unmanned aircraft against non-state actors, more technologically formidable militaries such as China's could be a problem.
Defense Systems
Air Force certifies SpaceX for satellite launches
Upstart will compete with incumbent United Launch Alliance on GPS III launches.
Defense Systems
Airman's 'Frankenphone' connects ground forces, drone pilots
An Air Force sensor operator uses scrap parts to develop a low-budget solution to streamline communication between drone pilots and forward operators calling in air strikes.
Science & Tech
Air Force Certifies SpaceX To Launch Military Satellites
The move breaks a monopoly long held by the United Launch Alliance.
Business
Northrop Grumman CEO Issues Rare Pentagon Rebuke Over Research Red Tape
Northrop's chief pushed back against a new Pentagon policy requiring firms to get DOD approval for company funded research projects.
Policy
What a Major Arms Control Treaty Teaches Us About the Iran Deal
Nearly 50 years of the Non-Proliferation Treaty have proven one thing — multilateral agreements can work to make the world safer.
Policy
Exasperated White House Pushes Senate To Pass Surveillance Reform Bill
Without naming Rand Paul, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest faulted the Kentucky Republican for holding up legislation.
Ideas
If Only US Leaders Read This Book On Pakistan That Was on Bin Laden's Shelf
While the U.S. draws down in Afghanistan, there's still time to hold Pakistan to account as the hostile state it is, rather than the challenging ally so many delude themselves into believing.
Threats
How Terrorism Prolongs Conflict But Loses the War
Rebel groups that employ the tactic in civil wars seldom win or gain concessions—but they tend to make ending a conflict much more difficult, a new paper finds.
Threats
China Warns of 'Inevitable' War with US Over South China Sea
China’s State Council just announced a new 'active defense' military strategy in a white paper criticizing 'external countries…meddling in South China Sea affairs.'
Defense Systems
High-power laser weapon advances to field testing
The HELLADS project, funded by DARPA and the Air Force Research Lab, is shooting for a small, lightweight laser capable of 150 kilowatts of output.
Science & Tech
NSA Trying to Track Your Smartphone Finger Strokes
Smartphone technology built by Lockheed Martin promises to verify a user's identity based on the swiftness and shape of the individual’s finger strokes on a touch screen.
Science & Tech
The Pentagon Is Rethinking a $475 Million Cyber Defense Proposal
Nearly a week after extending the terms of its original proposal, U.S. Cyber Command revoked a 5-year contract offer that aimed to backfill significant staffing shortages.
Ideas
Why the New Arab Military Pact Isn't Worth The Ink It Was Written In
The plan drawn up yesterday by the Arab world’s military chiefs is unlikely to go any farther than the Cairo conference room where it was concocted.
Threats
Carter: The US Military Is Training an Iraqi Army That Doesn't Want To Fight
The main problem with Iraq's battered and depleted military is the same one facing Iraq as a whole—the country effectively no longer exists as a unified state.
Business
The Once—and Future?—USS Samuel B. Roberts
The enduring legacy of a small warship, in 25 tweets.
Business
CIA Ends Its Climate Research Program
Just days after the president said climate change was an 'indisputable' national security threat, the intelligence community ends its satellite data-sharing program with scientists.
Defense Systems