Threats

Attack on Airliner Sets a New Precedent for the World's Battlefields

What the crash of the Malaysia Airlines jet tells us about the military role of non-state actors. By Kathy Gilsinan

Defense Systems

Squad X aims to 'organically' integrate sensors, comm, data for small units

DARPA's program wants to bring a full, near-real-time operational picture to the infantry squad.

Defense Systems

Senate bill would cut $500M from Defense IT budget

But cyber and R&D would get a boost under bill approved by the appropriations committee.

Threats

Biden Warns of 'Repercussions' Over Ukraine Crash

Vice President Joe Biden said a passenger airliner bound for Malaysia was 'blown out of the sky' near the Russian border with Ukraine on Thursday. By Ben Watson

Threats

Israel Invades Gaza After Hamas Refuses To Yield

Israel sends ground forces into Gaza to stop rocket attacks, military officials said, after Palestinians ignore repeated warnings to cease fire. By Kevin Baron

Policy

GOP Proposes More National Guard Troops for the Border Crisis

House GOP lawmakers claim their border plan is a 'major change' that will cost 'less than half' of the president's nearly $4 billion border response package. By Billy House and Rachel Roubein

Policy

Why Rand Paul Loves to Fight Over Foreign Policy

Arguing over military intervention with the GOP is an ideal platform for the libertarian senator's most popular, and disruptive, ideas. By Molly Ball

Policy

Dunford Didn’t Endorse Plan to Pull Troops from Afghanistan by 2017

The president’s plan for withdrawing from Afghanistan can’t escape comparisons to Iraq – even from his top commander. By Molly O’Toole

Threats

Additional Sanctions 'Tighten Noose' Around Russia

Coordinating with European allies, President Barack Obama announced the broadest sanctions yet on Russian financial, energy and defense entities. By Brian Resnick & Ben Geman

Threats

The FAA Warned Airlines Not to Fly Over Ukraine

The U.S. government did its best to keep civilian airliners away from the region. BY James Fallows

Defense Systems

NERO jams aboard a drone in Army test

Flights show that a Gray Eagle can carry out electronic attacks currently handled by C-12 aircraft.

Defense Systems

DISA shuts down an enterprise data center

Closing the DECC in Hunstville, Ala., is expected to add $3.2 million to the saving from consolidation.

Policy

Obama’s War Budget: ‘Slush Fund’ or the New Normal?

Lawmakers are balking at Obama’s $65.8 billion Overseas Contingency Operations request. By Molly O’Toole

Ideas

You Can’t Fight Terrorists By Partnering With Guys Like Maliki

The U.S. needs to choose better counterterrorism partners than the likes of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. By Michael J. Quigley

Ideas

If the Pentagon Buys Less, It Needs to Invest More

If the military is supposed to use the peace to prepare for the next war, it has to spend more on research & development. By Gen. Norton A. Schwartz and Col. Tom Harrison

Policy

Here Are All the Ways Congress Is Trying to Fix the VA

The Veterans Affairs Department is, by many accounts, broken, and Congress has a lot of ideas to fix it. By Eric Katz

Business

Don't Expect the VA to Improve Overnight

The acting VA secretary told Senators it will take years to correct the department's troubled course -- but an extra $17 billion could certainly speed things up. By Jordain Carney

Threats

ISIL and the Lesser Evil of Bashar al-Assad

As ISIL tears through Iraq, Syria's Assad has strengthened his alliances with Baghdad, Iran, Hezbollah, and Russia. Could the U.S. be next? By Dominic Tierney

Defense Systems

Air Force certifies SpaceX launches for future contracts

The private space launch company is now qualified to compete for the Air Force’s EELV program.

Defense Systems

3 companies get contracts for a satellite-launching space plane

DARPA’s XS-1 program aims to develop a hypersonic unmanned craft that can launch payloads from suborbital altitudes.