Exclusive Science & Tech

Pentagon to Adopt Detailed Principles for Using AI

Sources say the list will closely follow an October report from a defense advisory board.

Science & Tech

War on Autopilot? It Will Be Harder Than the Pentagon Thinks

Despite defense contractors’ glittering demonstrations, difficult realities are challenging the military’s race to network everything.

Science & Tech

US Defense R&D Funding Falls As China’s Keeps Growing

2021 budget request would see Pentagon funding shrink from $64.5 billion to $59 billion.

Science & Tech

One Step Closer to a Batsuit for Soldiers

Researchers announce new military funding in search for body armor skin that could be 300 percent stronger than anything we’ve seen before.

Science & Tech

US Expected to Loosen Restrictions on Land Mines — Smart Ones, Anyway

The new rule could pave the way for the Army to deploy networked, sensor-packed remote-controllable mines far from the Korean peninsula.

Science & Tech

Putin Seeks to Plug Gaps in Russia's State-Driven Tech Efforts

His Wednesday speech acknowledged difficulties Russian researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs face, particularly in the realm of finance.

Ideas

Most-Read of 2020 (So Far)

We're three months into the next year already, if you go by the fiscal calendar. Here's the most-clicked posts on our site since Oct. 1.

Science & Tech

NSA, Army Seek Quantum Computers Less Prone to Error

Even ordinary computers flip a bit here and there, but their quantum cousins have a lot more ways to go wrong.

Science & Tech

NIST Creates Biometric Databases to Spur ID Research

The data collections include fingerprints, facial photographs and iris scans — and they're meant to be just the start.

Science & Tech

This Little-Used Area of the Electromagnetic Spectrum Might Be the Future of Battlefield Communications

If commercial 5G millimeter-wave gear can be hardened against jamming, the U.S. Army thinks it might gain a real battlefield edge.

Science & Tech

China Has Increasing Sway in US Science, JASON Report Says

Beijing is using better jobs at home, aggressive intelligence agencies, and a greater financial reach to influence American institutions.

Science & Tech

US Army’s High-Powered Skull Study May Yield Better Helmets

Protecting soldiers' brains is the ultimate aim of a joint effort by the Army Research Laboratory, Argonne National Lab, and Northwestern University.

Science & Tech

House Defense Bill Would Mandate Carbon Capture Program for the Military

A technology that many hope will prevent the worst effects of climate change could also produce fuel or other defense products.

Threats

Pentagon Test-Fires 2nd INF-Banned Missile

The Air Force ran Thursday's launch from a static pad, which followed the Navy's August test from a mobile launcher.

Science & Tech

Special Operations Command Made a Mind-Reading Kit For Elite Troops

The experimental tool is among several that aim to combine sensors and AI to give U.S. operators a new edge.

Science & Tech

Federal Bill Would Constrain Some Police Use of Facial-Recognition Tools

A 72-hour limit on tracking individuals would become the first, and somewhat arbitrary, federal line in the sand.