Business
Trump Wanted a Cheaper Air Force One. So the USAF Is Buying a Bankrupt Russian Firm’s Undelivered 747s
The service is reportedly getting a good deal on the jets, which list for around $390 million and are now sitting in the Mojave Desert.
Threats
Counties Are on the Front Lines of Cyber War
John Allen, Marine general-turned-think-tanker, outlines how officials can protect voting machines and other vulnerable systems.
Ideas
Trump’s Ceasefire May Hand Russia the Keys to Southwestern Syria
The US must quickly send monitors to the ‘safe zones’ — or cede yet more regional influence to Moscow and Tehran.
Ideas
Ukraine Is Losing Fewer Weapons to Theft, but High-Level Corruption Persists
A member of the Independent Defence Anti-Corruption Committee says the international community must leverage its security aid to force reforms.
Ideas
Is Russia Really with Assad in Syria?
Moscow appears to be preventing a total Assad victory in a bid to boost its international standing.
Ideas
Don’t Enshrine A Russian Advantage In Surveillance Flights Over the US
Provisions in the House version of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act would prevent the Pentagon from matching Russia’s advances in aerial photography.
Science & Tech
Russian Weapons Maker To Build AI-Directed Guns
Kalashnikov’s upcoming product shows how the US and Russia are on wildly different paths to autonomy.
Ideas
The Next Battle: State Department, US Military Divided Over Kurdish Fighters In Syria (And Russia)
Frustrated sources on the ground say the State Department is struggling to get behind the Syrian Kurds and the U.S. military would struggle to proceed without them. As for Russia, well...
Policy
As Trump and Putin Met, US and UK Defense Chiefs Discussed Ways to Deter Russia
While one part of Trump’s executive branch looks to improve relations with Moscow, another prepares for the worst.
Ideas
At Trump-Putin Meeting, Start with New START
If the treaty is allowed to disappear, so will the Pentagon’s best tools for divining facts about the Russian nuclear arsenal.
Policy
Departing Air Force Undersecretary Warns of Budget Uncertainty
Lisa Disbrow says the Air Force needs stable funding to better connect its planes, protect its satellites and buy more aircraft.
Threats
Writing the Rules of Cyberwar
The line between offensive and defensive attacks is far from clear, a new book argues.
Ideas
Calm Your Russia War Drums Over This ‘Deconfliction Line’
Yes, the fight is hotter. But we were told this was coming, US and Russian leaders are deconflicting aplenty, and nobody wants war.
Policy
Inside the West Wing Tug-of-War Over Russia and Ukraine
The president has been all over the map on Ukraine. The people around him have been much more consistent.
Threats
As ISIS Shrinks in Syria, the US and Iran Draw Closer to Conflict
Even if the Pentagon may not want to directly engage Syrian forces or their Russian and Iranian-backed allies, there’s a danger of accidental escalation.
Threats
The United States and Russia Are Increasingly at Odds in Syria
Amid disagreements about what might come after ISIS, Moscow says its missiles will track some US aircraft as targets.
Science & Tech
The US Government Is Still Installing Russian Software on Its PCs
The intelligence community is aghast, but the rest of the federal government keeps buying anti-virus tools from Moscow-based Kaspersky.
Threats
A Giant Russian Exercise Will Soon Put 100,000 Troops on NATO’s Border. Then What?
As Russia and Belarus prep for their quadrennial fight-the-West wargame, NATO’s Baltic states are watching more than a bit nervously.
Policy
The 5 Biggest Unanswered Questions from James Comey’s Testimony
Here are the Trump-Russia investigation details that the former FBI director will only discuss behind closed doors
Science & Tech