Science & Tech

US Army Boosts Spending on Genetically Engineered Spider Silk for Body Armor, Underwear

What’s almost as tough as Kevlar, as flexible as silk, has the DNA of a spider but comes from a worm? Something the Army is looking to buy for as much as $1 million.

Science & Tech

Pentagon Now Offering Top Officials Classified Tablets

The Defense Department's pilot program allows access to materials up to secret level.

Science & Tech

3 Questions: Consumer Drones & Security

An exploration of the growing market for unmanned aircraft, their many applications, and what bad guys might do with them.

Threats

North Korea's Latest Launch Spurs U.S. Missile Tests, Flyovers

The United States has been ramping up exercises and diplomatic moves in response to worrying new developments out of Pyongyang.

Science & Tech

Which Cyberattacks Should the United States Deter, and How?

In theory, there is no reason why the principles of deterrence should not apply to cyberspace. However, there are a number of reasons why it does not work in practice.

Science & Tech

US Air Force Wants Robots Watching Twitter

Tomorrow’s operations will be shaped by automated analysis of the world’s open-source data, says the service’s chief of staff.

Science & Tech

Forget Radio Silence. Tomorrow’s Soldiers Will Move Under Cover of Electronic Noise

The Army’s doctrine chief says it’s self-defeating to switch off the networks that enable U.S. military superiority.

Science & Tech

US Navy Gunners Are Testing A Wearable Heads-Up Display

A service lab has turned a lieutenant’s brainstorm into a testable prototype dubbed the GunnAR augmented-reality headset.

Science & Tech

State Dept Will Still Run Int’l Cyber Policy, Even If It Closes Cyber Office

A White House official also outlined how federal agency leaders will be held accountable for network breaches.

Science & Tech

Is That Really You Typing? New Pentagon Tech Will Know

In its quest to drop authentication cards, the Defense Department is trying out a system based on the nuances of users’ typing.

Science & Tech

3D-Printed Gun Designs Are Selling for $12 on the Dark Web

A new report shows just how easy it is becoming to download designs for difficult-to-trace arms.

Science & Tech

DIUx Wins Support — and More Cash — from Trump’s Pentagon

The vice chair of the Joint Chiefs touted an effort to track North Korean missile launcher, while the military’s new weapons buyer called it a good model for developing and acquiring capabilities.

Science & Tech

Advisory Group Prepping ‘Moonshot’ Plan to Fight Botnets

DHS has commissioned two reports describing what might be done about networks of compromised computers.

Science & Tech

US Army Seeks Internet-of-Battlefield-Things, Distributed Bot Swarms

After nearly two decades of war against technologically unsophisticated foes, the Army Research Lab is reorienting to counter China and Russia.

Science & Tech

Facial Recognition Coming to Police Body Cameras

An approach to machine learning inspired by the human brain is about to revolutionize street search.

Science & Tech

Russian Weapons Maker To Build AI-Directed Guns

Kalashnikov’s upcoming product shows how the US and Russia are on wildly different paths to autonomy.

Science & Tech

US Army Looking to Integrate Network Soldiers with Tactical Units

Brigades are working out various ideas at training centers, says the head of the service’s Cyber Command.

Science & Tech

The US Isn’t Going To Launch a Military Space Corps—For Now

The effort still sends a message that the U.S. is concerned about the orbital military aspirations of geopolitical rivals like China and Russia.

Science & Tech

How Will The Pentagon Create Its AIs? The Algorithmic-Warfare Team Is Charting a Path

Over the next 36 months, an algorithmic-warfare team will draw up a model for splitting the work between government and industry.

Science & Tech

Tomorrow Soldier: How The Military Is Altering the Limits of Human Performance

Breakthroughs in biometric science mean future troops will fight with weapons that understand them — inside and out.