Defense Systems

Working toward a more mobile military

The services are looking to bring logistics tracking and wireless learning capabilities to mobile devices for troops.

Business

Could a New Cessna Find Its Way to the Battlefield?

FedEx will be the first to operate the new twin-engine turboprop, but military sales may not be far behind.

Business

As the US Air Force Turns Its Focus to Space, This Small Team Could Lead the Way

Once seen as a threat to traditional acquisition channels, the Operationally Responsive Space office is making it faster and cheaper to put new capabilities into orbit.

Business

US Air Force Wants to Get New Nuclear Weapons Faster

Just months into the first development contracts, the service’s top general is looking for ways to speed things up.

Threats

Can Two Nuclear Powers Fight a Conventional War?

The Pentagon just wargamed that scenario as part of its effort to determine what it needs for 21st-century deterrence.

Science & Tech

A Short-Staffed US Air Force Wants Robots to Do More Human Jobs

The service’s top general says new systems, from bombs to buildings, must be able to think, share, and learn.

Threats

US Air Force Chief Helps Young Airman Locate Family In Puerto Rico

After going a month without hearing from his hurricane-stricken family, Sr. Airman Malcom Soto-Gonzalez got a hand from an unexpected source.

Threats

EXCLUSIVE: US Preparing to Put Nuclear Bombers Back on 24-Hour Alert

If the order comes, the B-52s will return to a ready-to-fly posture not seen since the Cold War.

Ideas

How the US Air Force Made Its ISR Network Cheaper to Run and Easier to Upgrade

Real-world lessons from a leader of the three-year effort to convert DCGS to open architecture.

Threats

The US Air War in Afghanistan Is Nearing Surge-Era Intensity

The latest figures from Air Force Central Command show that more bombs are being dropped than have been in nearly seven years.

Threats

Could North Korea Shoot Down US Warplanes?

Some of Pyongyang's surface-to-air missiles are old, but its newer ones could threaten American aircraft.

Science & Tech

Meet the 17-Year-Old Who Hacked the Air Force

The winner of the service's latest bug-bounty contest says government security gets tighter every time they invite the public to help.

Business

Air Force: We’re Low on Bombs Because Congress Can’t Pass a Budget

It’s hard to persuade arms makers to boost production, even to fight ISIS, without cash on the barrelhead.

Science & Tech

The Russians Just Test-Fired an ICBM

Both Washington and Moscow are modernizing their nuclear arsenals, but military leaders worry that Russia is ahead.

Science & Tech

Defense Firms to Air Force: Want Your Planes’ Data? Pay Up

It may be years before Air Force leaders can scrounge up the funds to turn on diagnostic gear they already own.

Science & Tech

Syria is a ‘Laboratory’ for the Air War of the Future

U.S. airmen are rapidly developing and remixing new technologies and techniques in the fight against ISIS, but sometimes you can’t beat the tried and true.

Threats

Swarmed With Mosquitoes After Harvey, Texas Calls in the Air Force

The Air Force is spraying a controversial insecticide across 6 million acres to kill mosquitoes brought in by Hurricane Harvey.