Business
The Future of Boeing Defense, According to Its New CEO
Five areas that Leanne Caret wants to focus on — and a few things she wants to stop doing.
Defense Systems
ONR looks to take the bloat out of software upgrades
Updates these days tend to include both old code and new code, which can slow down performance and increase security risks.
Ideas
What Presidents Do When Naval Encounters Turn Deadly
Three incidents that shook the nation hold lessons for future commanders-in-chief.
Science & Tech
US Navy Is Rigging Locusts to Sniff Out Bombs
Although dogs’ noses remain the gold standard for chemical detection, bugs' simpler neurological system make them easier to engineer and control.
Threats
China Declares a No-Sail-Zone in Disputed Waters During Wargame
The 38,000-square-mile trapezoid sits in the South China Sea between Vietnam and the Philippines.
Defense Systems
Navy names 21 companies to $750M C2 contract
The companies will compete to supply the service with commercial command and control equipment and services.
Defense Systems
Directed energy weapons making a great leap forward
Lockheed Martin’s directed energy lead Paul Shattuck expounds on why laser beam weapon technology is maturing so quickly.
Defense Systems
Navy cranks up the power on laser weapon
The service is reportedly getting ready to test a 150-kilowatt system, which would be a fivefold increase over the LaWS system currently is use.
Science & Tech
The Navy Is Making a New GPS for Drone Submarines
Right now, GPS signals can barely travel below the surface of the ocean.
Ideas
Put the X-47B Back to Work — As a Tanker
Before the US Navy spends another billion dollars on prototype UAVs, it should wring more lessons from its existing fleet.
Defense Systems
Navy wants drones to help drones
The Office of Naval Research is looking for other unmanned platforms to provide data transfers and refuel unmanned surface vehicles at sea.
Defense Systems
NRL patents process for turning seawater into fuel
Researchers' E-CEM separates carbon dioxide and hydrogen and then produces liquid hydrocarbons for (still small) amounts of fuel.
Defense Systems
How 3D printing can aid the military supply chain
The Naval Surface Warfare Center sees additive manufacturing as a way to deliver "just-in-time" parts, at a much lower cost than current methods.
Defense Systems
Bluefin’s SandShark a new breed of small, versatile underwater drones
The autonomous UUV, weighing less than 15 pounds, is capable of a variety of missions, including operating in swarms.
Science & Tech
Gunfight! Does the Navy's Little Warship Need a Bigger Cannon?
Size matters to gunmakers competing to arm the Littoral Combat Ship against pirates, China, and Iran.
Defense Systems
Navy says hit me again with Blackjack UAS
The small, rail-launched ISR drones are used by the Navy and Marines for ISR, and have shown potential for domestic use.
Science & Tech
‘Give Surprising New Capabilities to Old Platforms,’ Carter Tells Engineers
At a Navy R&D lab, the defense secretary reveals a deeply layered concept of 'innovation' — and a geek's love for tech.
Threats
Pentagon Playing the Long Game in the South China Sea, Carter Says
For China, like the old Soviet Union, the U.S. defense secretary bets “internal logic” will dictate a change—eventually.
Threats
'Undersea Superiority is No Birthright': Inside One of America's Newest Subs
As Russia, China beef up their submarine fleets, the defense secretary says the US needs to hustle to stay ahead.
Defense Systems