Policy
Will Trump Really Cut Defense Spending by 5%? It’s Way Too Early To Say
The Pentagon’s No. 2 confirms that the president’s surprise order will affect the military, but experts say there may ultimately be no decline at all.
Ideas
The US Needs a Cybersecurity Civilian Corps
Like the auxiliaries that arose during WWII, a new volunteer organization will help face today’s threats.
Policy
Pentagon Officials Debating How Fast to Launch Space Force, Deputy Says
White House panel announces formal recommendations, while Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan confirms NRO will remain apart from Space Force.
Policy
US: Afghan Security Strategy Is ‘Working,’ Despite Insider Attacks
A Pentagon spokesman cites a two-thirds decrease in attacks since the war’s peak eight years ago.
Policy
Here’s The Pentagon’s Initial Plan For Creating a Space Force
Parts of the Air Force, Navy and Army would move into a sixth branch, but the NRO will likely remain independent.
Ideas
How the Joint Staff Calculated a Defense Program’s Return on Investment
As our office computed the utility of its wargaming grants and library, we learned some things that others in DoD may want to copy.
Policy
Mattis Asks Trump to OK US Space Command, Pick Leaders
The Pentagon has made a number of internal moves to create the 11th combatant command.
Science & Tech
The Pentagon Is Recruiting Tech Talent Like Colleges Recruit Athletes
The Defense Department is trying new methods of engagement to recruit young techies.
Policy
US Military Leaders Keep Quiet on Saudi Arabia Amid Khashoggi Outrage
The Pentagon has long accepted Saudi abuses as the price of friendship. The latest won’t change that.
Ideas
Microsoft, Amazon CEOs Vow to Continue Defense Work After Google Bails on JEDI
The leaders of two contenders for the Pentagon’s massive cloud contract sounded off on Google’s decision not to bid.
Business
L3, Harris CEOs: Merger Will Help Compete Against Top Contractors
L3 expects to depart its Manhattan headquarters and join Harris in Florida.
Ideas
The Pentagon’s Push to Program Soldiers’ Brains
DARPA’s developing capabilities still hover at or near a proof-of-concept stage. But that’s close enough to have drawn investment from some of the world’s richest corporations.
Science & Tech
IBM Files Bid Protest Against Pentagon’s JEDI Contract
IBM becomes the second company to file a pre-award bid protest against the Pentagon’s multibillion cloud contract.
Threats
Scientists: Pentagon’s Plant-Virus Research Could Endanger World’s Food Supply
But DOD responds that new ways are needed to harden crops against coming natural and manmade threats.
Business
Trump Wants Chinese Parts Out of American Weapons
The White House will call for targeted investments in domestic manufacturing in an industrial-base report to be unveiled Friday.
Policy
‘It’s Complete Folly’: Hagel Says Trump Administration Can’t Threaten Iran Out of Syria
“I don't know what our foreign policy objective is in the Middle East or almost anywhere else,” says former defense secretary at Defense One interview.
Policy
Trump Officials Target Iran, Raising Question of US Military’s Role in Mideast
Some fear the strategy opens the door to strikes on Iranian forces inside Syria — and direct armed conflict with Tehran.
Ideas
Two Reasons Not to Build Fort Trump in Today’s Poland
Even as it exacerbated Russian fears, a permanent U.S. force would burnish Warsaw’s dangerous turn.
Science & Tech
DARPA-Funded Work May Help Troops See Around Corners
By setting up multiple sensors, researchers have learned to “see” what’s out of sight.
Threats