Science & Tech
Why You Can’t Shoot Terrorists With Lasers, Yet
Military leaders are eager to have the precision of a directed-energy weapon — yet plenty of legal and practical obstacles remain.
Science & Tech
Border-Guard Dogs to Get Health-Monitoring Collars
K-9 units will test out high-tech sensors that keep tabs on dogs’ vital signs in hot working conditions.
Science & Tech
Is Trump Still Tweeting From His Unsecured Android Phone?
If so, he’s extremely vulnerable to being hacked.
Science & Tech
Facial-Recognition Tech May Turn Life into a Perpetual Police Lineup
Combined with policy body cameras, it could redefine the nature of public spaces.
Science & Tech
Software Used to Predict Crime Can Now Be Scoured for Bias
Predictive-policing startup CivicScape published its code online, allowing anyone to help ensure that the algorithm doesn’t unfairly target certain groups of people.
Threats
How the Rise of Electronics Has Made Smuggling Bombs Easier
New restrictions on flights from the Middle East reflect how just about anything with power can be turned into an explosive.
Ideas
Watch: Future of War Conference 2017
Defense One partners with New America to bring you the Future of War Conference 2017 in Washington, D.C.
Ideas
What Will Replace the Third Offset? Lessons from Past Innovation Strategies
Whatever the name, it’s crucial to have a framework for directing and harnessing advancements in defense technology.
Science & Tech
The Government’s Intelligence Wiki Might Be a Lockbox for Russian-Hacking Secrets
Analysts reportedly tucked classified information about Russian election meddling inside Intellipedia for safekeeping.
Science & Tech
Air Force Wants to Test a Laser on an Attack Plane Within A Year
But the U.S. Special Operations Command still needs money for the test and policymakers need to figure out the rules of engagement.
Science & Tech
DARPA Tests Dirty-Bomb Hunting Ambulances
You may not have known it, but some D.C. ambulances were searching for radiation while they drove.
Science & Tech
The Man who led the Syrian Train-and-Equip Effort Wants A Cultural Translation App
The complex, delicate missions of today and tomorrow need a better way to bring fused intelligence to operators.
Science & Tech
Military-Grade Spy Gear Is Flooding into Local Police Departments
Major U.S. cities are spending millions of dollars on tools that track and extract data from people’s cellphones — but almost nothing on rules to guide their use.
Ideas
Four Ways to Automate Cyber Defense
Humans aren’t fast enough to respond to network attacks and breaches. Machines can help us, if we help them.
Science & Tech
IARPA Wants Autonomous Fingerprint Tech
The intelligence research arm is offering up cash for cutting-edge ideas on capturing complete scans.
Science & Tech
Hacking Into Future Nuclear Weapons: The US Military’s Next Worry
Warheads will be networked, and that presents unique challenges for the U.S. Air Force.
Science & Tech
How Did One Small Defense Firm Get a Seat at Trump's Tech Summit?
The meeting put data-viz firm Palantir next to some of the world’s largest data-gathering companies.
Science & Tech
The CIA’s Classified Cloud Is Reducing Tasks from Months to Minutes
Launched in April, the intelligence community's 10-year, $600 million Amazon-built infrastructure project is already producing results.
Science & Tech
The US Navy Hopes a Reporting App Can Reduce Sexual Assault
A six-month, $150,000 pilot project is testing an app initially created to prevent campus gun violence.
Science & Tech