Threats

Fortress Britain's Coming Crackdown

In the wake of the Manchester attack, the U.K. government is stationing troops in cities and fast-tracking new laws to access encrypted messages.

Science & Tech

Tomorrow’s Robots Will Train in Simulators, Just Like Today’s Troops

Several firms are working on training environments like Star Trek’s Holodeck, but for machines.

Science & Tech

Who Are the Shadow Brokers?

What is—and isn’t—known about the mysterious hackers leaking National Security Agency secrets.

Science & Tech

Pentagon Mapmakers Want To Tap Mobile Ad Technology. Here's Why.

NGA is scoping private-sector technology at incubators in Boston, Austin and New York.

Threats

CNO: We Need a Bigger, Better Fleet Far Sooner Than You Think

Adm. John Richardson lays out an urgent vision for meeting the 21st century’s sail-to-steam moment.

Science & Tech

China Is Creating a DNA Database Straight Out of Science Fiction

The Ministry of Public Security has collected the genetic information of more than 40 million people — and counting.

Science & Tech

DARPA Wants Artificial Intelligence That Doesn't Forget Everything It Knows

Biological systems don't completely freeze up when they encounter a new situation, but computers often do.

Ideas

The Army Wants to Let Troops off the ‘Digital Leash.’ That’s Easier Said Than Done.

Gen. Mark Milley’s injunction against IT-enabled micromanagement will require leaders at all levels to re-think what it means to be part of the profession of arms.

Science & Tech

The Pentagon’s New Algorithmic Warfare Cell Gets Its First Mission: Hunt ISIS

Turning hours of drone video into actionable intelligence is just the start for the fast-moving machine-learning team.

Science & Tech

Trump Wants ‘Goddamned Steam,’ Not Digital Catapults on Aircraft Carriers

The president's criticism of the USS Ford's EMALS 'blindsided' Navy officials.

Science & Tech

The US Military Has a New Technology to Finally Solve the Concussion Crisis

The Army is testing sensors that can detect the impact of explosions on the brain.

Science & Tech

Here's a Look at New Exosuits for the Civilian World

After years of tinkering and military adventures, the first exoskeleton suits are finally walking out of the lab and into the market.

Science & Tech

Marines: 'The First One Through the Door Should Be a Lethal Robot'

The future of amphibious warfare looks like a constellation of bots large and small. The main challenge now is getting them to talk to each other.

Ideas

How Should We Treat Our Military Robots?

Increasingly human-like automated weapons demand an honest accounting of our emotional responses to them.

Ideas

The Trouble With Brazil's Expanding Arms Trade

With weapons appearing in Yemen and transferring to repressive regimes, Brazil's arms policies are outdated and out of step with its peaceful aims.

Science & Tech

How a National Lab in Charge of Nuclear Safety Optimized Its Systems

It went from having 63 data centers to 18 across a square-mile campus, reducing facility costs and repurposing staff.

Policy

Trump Wants to Overhaul Federal IT, But He’s Missing the People Who Could Help

Trump’s prepping big plans to modernize and secure government technology, but he’ll need government’s buy in to get it done.

Science & Tech

US Army Exploring 'Devastating' New Weapon for Use In War with Russia

The Kinetic Energy Projectile would be a tungsten warhead that moves at three times the speed of sound, destroying anything in its path.

Threats

The Stockholm Attack Is a Stark Reminder We Have No Way to Fight Low-Tech Terror

As terror attacks become less sophisticated, they are also becoming more difficult to prevent.