Business
Disjointed: Pentagon Isn’t Coordinating Efforts to Fix Readiness
Each service has its own plan, except for the Marines, who don’t really have a plan, says the GAO.
Ideas
Want to Lead? Talk to the Media
American voters deserve to be informed by their candidates and generals.
Science & Tech
Pentagon Eyes Missile-Defense Sensors In Space
Even as the Defense Department begins to build a giant new flight-tracking radar in Alaska, it is already thinking bigger — and much higher.
Ideas
Looking to Grow the Next Big Military Innovation? Plant a Seed Overseas
It’s the right approach in an era where no nation can bet its security on a monopoly on good ideas.
Ideas
Don’t Box Retired Generals Out of Politics
Gen. Dempsey’s prescription would preclude valuable contributions toward an informed electorate.
Science & Tech
Cargo Shorts at the Pentagon: Inside DoD's Digital Service Team
Matt Cutts, a Google employee on temporary leave, says his job is less about AI and more about getting "basic, fundamental things" to work right now.
Science & Tech
F-35 is ‘Ready For War;’ Now the Air Force Wants More, and Faster
Buying more JSFs would lower the per-plane price tag and allow the service to retire older jets sooner.
Ideas
Keep Your Politics Private, My Fellow Generals and Admirals
We must not compromise our military’s special role in democracy, nor hinder those who come after us.
Ideas
The Dirty Secret of US-Israel Missile Defense Cooperation
We need a way to fund Israel’s missile defenses without undercutting our own.
Science & Tech
Pentagon Opens Boston Tech Outreach Office, With an Eye to BioTech
The East Coast Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental, or DIUx, joins the Pentagon’s other DIUx office, based in the Silicon Valley area and unveiled in 2015.
Business
America’s reliance on Turkish manufacturing; Raytheon’s CEO talks tech; What's next for Boeing’s tanker
Introducing our new weekly newsletter about the future of the business of defense.
Business
Flexible Flyers: Companies Race to Equip Warplanes for Quick Modification
With innovation a new strategic imperative, aircraft builders are making it easier for planes to accept hardware and software improvements.
Ideas
The US Air Force Is Short 700 Fighter Pilots. Here’s Our Plan to Fix That.
Busier but smaller than ever, the Air Force needs higher bonuses and more family time to help compete with commercial airlines and the economy.
Science & Tech
The Pentagon’s Secret Weapons Guru Asked For Your Crazy Ideas & Got 1,000 in 1 Month
Will Roper, director of the Defense Department's Strategic Capabilities Office, got "exactly what we want" from the public.
Ideas
It's Getting Harder to Define Military Readiness. Here's What to Do About It.
Planners and evaluators must try to anticipate how threats and operating environments will change during a deployment.
Ideas
Obama Asked the Military For A Plan to Protect Civilians. Here’s One.
We learned through experience the importance of preventing civilian casualties in today’s wars.
Ideas
Don’t Learn the Wrong Lessons from Rapid Acquisition
Our enthusiasm must be tempered by an understanding of the wartime circumstances that made it work and the downsides that were accepted.
Threats
What’s New in the Pentagon’s China Report? More than Passing Mention of Fake Islands
The annual military assessment includes 7 full pages about South China Sea construction, up from 2 paragraphs last year.
Ideas
Here’s a Way Out of Our Rare-Earths Mess
China controls substances so valuable that the Pentagon dares not act. It’s up to the Senate now.
Ideas