Policy

Donald Trump Won’t Attend Biden’s Inauguration. So How Will He Leave Washington?

The timing of the departure has numerous logistical implications, including the plane’s call sign.

Science & Tech

Inside the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Quantum Lab

Basic science, practical engineering — and an attempt to focus on the most productive lines of effort.

Science & Tech

In Europe, US Air Force Brings Back Cold War Mobility Concept

The shift from countering terrorists to Russia is also bringing cutting-edge fighter-jet simulators.

Defense Systems

Software factories are new 'crown jewels,' Air Force official says

Will Roper, the Air Force's acquisition chief, said the massive cybersecurity breach that's plagued several federal government agencies creates "a new kind of target for our adversaries" that must be protected.

Defense Systems

Telework gets Air Force IT seal of approval

Lauren Knausenberger, the Air Force's deputy CIO, said IT satisfaction went up significantly once people started working from home.

Ideas

ICBM Advocates Say US Missile Subs Are Vulnerable. It Isn’t True

Recent technological advances still favor the sea-based leg of America’s nuclear triad.

Defense Systems

Congressional leaders push back on NDAA veto threats

Defense committee leaders plan to vote on the annual defense bill without key items on President Trump's wish list.

Exclusive Policy

Trump Admin to Rename Two Bases for Space Force Over Military Objections

The Air Force had quietly agreed with Congress not to change anything until the NDAA settles a way forward on Confederate base names.

Ideas

Why We Need a New ICBM

The arguments for keeping a nuclear triad.

Defense Systems

USAF primed to launch new phase of data strategy

Eileen Vidrine, the Air Force's chief data officer, talks about department's priorities are, how they've changed this year and how the Defense Department's data strategy ties it all together.

Exclusive Policy

EXCLUSIVE: Details Revealed in Trump’s Lame-Duck Pentagon Budget Draft

Some of the numbers are “fabricated,” says one official. But they shed light on GOP lines of attack awaiting Biden.

Policy

Dems See GOP Electioneering in Air Force Choice of Georgia for C-130 Base

A Trump appointee wants Air National Guard planes sent to the state that holds the key to Senate control.

Defense Systems

Making software more than an 'IT thing'

Software modernization has a branding problem, and it's going to take more than the colloquial culture shift to speed up the Defense Department's adoption of modern tech capabilities, according to Deputy CIO Peter Ranks.

Ideas

What Clinton’s Foreign Affairs Article May Mean for the Defense Budget

Her approach, more rebalancing rather than modernizing, avoids a simple zero-sum frame of defense vs. non-defense spending.

Ideas

The Coming F-35 Fiasco

Now that Qatar is asking for the jet, it’s time to consider an entirely different approach to helping Gulf nations defend themselves.