Policy
US counterterrorism chief resigns over Iran war
Joe Kent said Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation” and that the attack was launched after pressure from Israel.
How the Pentagon is working to wriggle out of China’s rare-earths grip
At a conference in Honolulu, the assistant defense secretary for industrial base policy detailed the challenge.
Aircrew who died in KC-135 crash likely lacked parachutes
The Air Force removed chutes from the tankers in 2008 to save time and money.
Exclusive
Hegseth orders ‘ruthless’ review of JAGs. Some see an attempt to evade accountability
Current and former military lawyers question the secretary’s motives and timing.
StateChat users move to older AI model as State dumps Anthropic
The chatbot's new model is trained on data only through May 2024, 13 months behind Claude.
INDOPACOM was all in on Anthropic. Now it’s working to adjust
The administration’s government-wide ban on the company’s AI tools has forced the command to work faster to be “model-neutral.”
NSA, Cyber Command get a permanent leader, ending 11-month gap
Gen. Joshua Rudd has spent his career largely in special operations and joint command roles.
Exclusive
A year into Hegseth’s cuts, defense civilians report ‘degraded performance’ and low morale
And the hiring freeze is still keeping overseas civilians from taking new jobs stateside.
Exclusive
Hegseth presses Defense civilians to deploy for immigration enforcement
"We all think it's absurd," one Army civilian told Defense One.
Trump's new cyber strategy calls for tougher responses to threats
Released Friday afternoon, the new strategy is notably shorter than those issued by Biden and the first Trump administration.
Air Force cybersecurity chief tapped to lead Pentagon's information-security efforts
James Bishop will replace acting DCIO(CS)-CISO David McKeown, who followed acting chief Katie Arrington.
Trump to fire DHS Secretary Noem, picks Mullin as successor
The controversial Homeland Security leader will end her tenure amid a budget shutdown of her agency and bipartisan criticism in both houses of Congress.
Exclusive
CISA nominee: I left Coast Guard to address GOP hold
Sean Plankey told Nextgov he was reacting to lawmakers' concerns about his shipbuilding ties.
Trump’s CISA nominee to exit Coast Guard role, but still in running to lead cyber agency
Sean Plankey has been serving in a Coast Guard advisory role for some months and is still set to be the nominee to lead CISA.
Sen. Wyden to block confirmation for NSA director, citing lack of experience
The Oregon senator took issue with Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd’s responses to questions regarding civil liberties and oversight against unlawful surveillance.
Special Report
Several trends are shifting defense tech toward Europe
War, regulation, and distrust of the United States are tilting a big market homeward.
Featured eBooks
Trump repeats claims to have ‘obliterated’ Iran’s nuke program, ended ‘8 wars’
In the longest-ever State of the Union speech, the president also took credit for a “trillion-dollar” defense budget, while falsely claiming that tariffs funded a pay bump for troops.
Pentagon’s spending plan doubles down on land, air, sea robots
A look at new tech efforts in the Pentagon’s $151 billion reconciliation allocation plan.
All eyes on Air Force leaders after a year of chaos and change
Experts say service leaders ought to pitch a clear vision at upcoming conference.
