Ideas
Here’s a Way Out of Our Rare-Earths Mess
China controls substances so valuable that the Pentagon dares not act. It’s up to the Senate now.
Science & Tech
Pentagon Shakes Up Silicon Valley Outreach
Defense Secretary Ash Carter gives DIUx new leaders, a new office, and a promotion.
Ideas
Transparency’s Double-Edged Sword
Even as ubiquitous surveillance helps hold governments accountable, it can also make tense situations less stable.
Ideas
How DIUx Should Pick Its Next Branch Offices
The Defense Secretary’s tech-outreach effort is looking to expand. Here’s how to do it.
Ideas
Forget Technology. The Real Military Edge Comes From Promoting Smart People
A military culture that values people – and their intellectual development — will drive the innovation needed to win our wars.
Science & Tech
The US Navy’s Next-Gen Comms System Is Frozen In the Italian Courts
After seven years and more than $7 billion, MUOS is ready to go. There’s just one problem with its Sicily station.
Science & Tech
How Traffic to This YouTube Video Predicts ISIS Attacks
One company is using metadata from video posts, Wikipedia entries, and other sites to forecast geopolitical unrest.
Science & Tech
The Increasingly Automated Hunt for Mobile Missile Launchers
The trick is training computers to filter the normal from an ocean of imagery, alert human analysts sparingly, and learn from their feedback.
Science & Tech
US Spies Want a Laser Gun That Can Detect Bombs from 100 Feet Away
If the device can be produced and later miniaturized, it may end up resembling a gun or grocery-store scanner.
Science & Tech
As Pentagon Dawdles, Silicon Valley Sells Its Newest Tech Abroad
A trio of tech CEOs say red tape and onerous requirements are undermining Ash Carter’s outreach efforts.
Science & Tech
The Military Wants a Privacy Firewall for Disaster Response
A new tool to strip personal information from tweets and social media could help troops zero in on trouble spots.
Ideas
Three Ways to Judge the Pentagon’s Tech-Sector Outreach
Hint: it’s not about how many zeroes are on the first checks.
Science & Tech
F-35 Will Fly Despite Auditor’s Fleet-Grounding Warning
Pentagon officials say the plane can fly without the aircraft’s enormously complex diagnostics system.
Ideas
The Mistake that Decapitated Pentagon Innovation — and How to Fix It
When the Packard Commission demoted the director of defense engineering and research, they essentially elevated gunsmithing over strategic marksmanship.
Science & Tech
Old Laws Are Keeping the US Navy from New IT Gear
The service’s deputy chief information officer says outdated regulations 'make it a struggle' for the military to stay on the cutting edge.
Science & Tech
In Libya, You Can Buy an Anti-Aircraft Gun on Facebook
An online marketplace for illicit weapons is thriving in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a recent study that found sales of machine guns, rocket launchers, and anti-aircraft guns on private Facebook groups in Libya.
Science & Tech
US Christens First Ghost Ship (and The Dawn of The Robotic Navy)
Autonomous vessels like this submarine hunter will play a growing role in future naval missions and will soon crowd the seas.
Business
Giddy Among Fellow Nerds, Carter Pitches Pentagon Work to Techies
The defense secretary takes his outreach tour to robotics labs and startup centers in Austin and Boston.
Science & Tech
What the Pentagon’s Bug Bounty Program Won’t Fix
The defense secretary reveals a prize pool of $150,000, but will the program reveal the limits of Silicon Valley solutions to DOD problems?
Ideas