Science & Tech

Central Command Needs Mideast Cyber Ops Advisers — and Fast

Potential bidders should come ready to handle everything from network maintenance to offensive hackery.

Business

Here’s How the USAF Is Using Its New Purchasing Power

Next week, program heads will meet at the Pentagon to brief the service’s new acquisition board of directors.

Science & Tech

Pentagon Bans Personal Devices from Classified Areas

That includes phones, smartwatches and other devices that can transmit, store and receive data.

Ideas

Calm Down, Folks: Enemies Still Fear US Military Tech Innovation

Where most countries focus on one or two areas, America has a huge, well-funded R&D infrastructure that pushes the envelope everywhere.

Science & Tech

Microsoft Invades Amazon’s Turf in Spookville

An intelligence-community contract for cloud and AI services is just a prequel to the upcoming battle for the Pentagon’s massive cloud contract.

Business

The US Air Force Is Adding Algorithms to Predict When Planes Will Break

The airlines already use predictive maintenance technology. Now the service’s materiel chief says it’s a “must-do for us.”

Threats

Congress Wrestles with Foreign Infiltration of US Universities

The latest NDAA tries to stop potential adversaries from recruiting talent and stealing innovative technology on campus.

Science & Tech

The US Army Will Help Uber Get Flying Taxis Off the Ground

The joint venture aims for quieter, more efficient propellers for stealth or urban flights.

Threats

Pentagon Bans Sale of Chinese-Designed Phones On Military Bases

Military personnel better stick with iPhones or Android devices.

Science & Tech

What Happens When Your Bomb-Defusing Robot Becomes a Weapon

Treating a technology as a “platform” has consequences.

Science & Tech

How a Pentagon Contract Sparked a Cloud War

Amazon and Google are taking on defense contractors in a heated battle for billions in government contracts.

Science & Tech

The Pentagon’s New R&D Chief Has a Mandate for Change

Michael Griffin has orders to concentrate the Defense Department’s diverse research and development efforts on a few key technologies.

Science & Tech

JEDI Will Be Just One of Many Clouds, Says Pentagon’s No. 2

The giant, groundbreaking IT contract may cover just a fraction of the cloud-services orders to come.

Science & Tech

The Pentagon Is Making a Ray Gun to Stop Truck Attacks

A device that resembles an old phonograph may soon be used to jam and shut down vehicles like the one that killed 10 people in Toronto.

Science & Tech

DARPA Wants to Merge Human and Computer Cyber Defenders

The CHESS program would build on DARPA’s autonomous cybersecurity contest and traditional hacking competitions.

Science & Tech

The Pentagon Is Building an AI Product Factory

Job One for the new Joint Artificial Intelligence Center will be delivering solutions for services’ specific problems.

Ideas

The Pursuit of AI Is More Than an Arms Race

Dealing wisely with the challenges of artificial intelligence requires reframing the current debates.