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
How DIUx Should Pick Its Next Branch Offices
The Defense Secretary’s tech-outreach effort is looking to expand. Here’s how to do it.
Science & Tech
The Pentagon Wants to ‘Fingerprint’ the World’s Hackers
By tracking their tools and behaviors, DARPA aims to solve one of the thorniest problems of cybersecurity: attribution.
Science & Tech
The Increasingly Automated Hunt for Mobile Missile Launchers
The trick is training computers to filter the normal from an ocean of imagery, alert human analysts sparingly, and learn from their feedback.
Science & Tech
The Military Is Pouring Money into Smart Fabrics, But There's a Holdup
A lead researcher explains why high-tech cloth could help the Pentagon with everything from solar-powered tents to sniper-detecting uniforms.
Science & Tech
Carter May Elevate CYBERCOM to a Full Combatant Command
As network warriors pound away on ISIS in the battle for Mosul, Carter says it’s time to consider full-COCOM status for cyberwarfare.
Science & Tech
The Pentagon Still Hasn't Decided Who's In Charge If America Comes Under Cyberattack
Is it NORTHCOM or CYBERCOM? CYBERCOM or the NSA—or both? So many agencies; so little clarity.
Ideas
The US Should Never Develop Another Joint Fighter
The savings rarely materialize when the services try to develop common weapons, but the problems sure do.
Policy
NATO’s Not Obsolete, Says Joint Chiefs Chairman
In fact, the alliance soon could join the fight against ISIS, adds Defense Secretary Carter.
Ideas
Some Good Reading for the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit
As the curtain prepares to rise on tomorrow's opening in Washington, take a moment to read the best from Defense One staff and contributors.
Ideas
Is That All There Is? Obama’s Disappointing Nuclear Legacy
The biggest roadblock to making the world safer from nuclear weapons turned out to be the president's own team.
Threats
Citing ‘Momentum Shift,’ Pentagon Wants to Deploy More Troops to Iraq
ISIS is on their heels in Iraq and Syria, say U.S. military leaders who plan to ask the White House for more forces.
Science & Tech
Pentagon Launches First-of-Its-Kind Bug Bounty Program
The idea is to find and fix vulnerabilities before the bad guys do. Certain restrictions apply.
Threats
The Battle for Mosul Has Begun
ISIS is under air, ground, and cyber attack as Iraqi and coalition troops encircle the group’s final stronghold in Iraq, the Joint Chiefs chairman says.
Ideas