Science & Tech
As America’s Nukes and Sensors Get More Connected, the Risk of Cyber Attack Is Growing
Future nuclear weapons will be more sophisticated and better integrated with other equipment. That has benefits and drawbacks.
Policy
Why the President’s FISA Fix Is Bad News For Privacy, Good News for Russian Agents
Early-morning tweets revealed Trump’s complicated relationship with various spying rules.
Science & Tech
Tomorrow's Cargo Drones Won't Look Much Like Today's Helicopters
Boeing unveils a squarish, skeletal quadcopter to try out new unmanned-delivery concepts.
Science & Tech
Pentagon Seeks Laser-Powered Bat Drones. Really.
A new contest seeks flight systems inspired by Mother Nature and powered by directed-energy beams.
Science & Tech
Iran’s Cyber War on Dissidents Could Infiltrate Your Mailbox
Tehran’s agents are busily working against the protesters — and anyone who may have contacted them from abroad.
Ideas
Where We're Headed in 2018
You can bet there will be new crises, weapons, leaders, and technologies to come. And, oh yes, there will be tweets.
Science & Tech
Pentagon Launches New Push For Tunnel-Warfare Tech
As potential adversaries build out sophisticated underground complexes, the U.S. military will try to keep up by going down.
Threats
The Desperate Push To Get Ukrainian POWs Home by Christmas
Kiev wants to send hundreds of captured war prisoners home to Russian-controlled areas. But not everyone wants to go back.
Policy
New National Security Strategy Sees Rising Russia, Retreat on 'Democratic Peace'
Donald Trump’s first strategy talks about threats and nation-state competition but also signals a reluctance to compete philosophically or morally.
Science & Tech
Russia, N. Korea Eye Bitcoin for Money Laundering, Putting It on a Crash Course with Regulators
Thieves and sanctioned countries are targeting the digital currency’s exchanges, setting up a fight between governments and cryptocurrency powerhouses.
Threats
In Eastern Ukraine, One Misplaced Artillery Shell Could Cause a ‘Chernobyl-Scale’ Disaster
Chemical plants in and around the combat zone are at risk, say Ukrainian officials and a new UN report
Threats
China May Be Preparing Refugee Sites in Case of a Korean War
A leaked document from a Chinese telecommunications company hints that Beijing is anticipating an influx of war refugees.
Science & Tech
Kamikaze UAVs, Drones on Leashes, Information Bombs Top Pentagon’s Counterterror Wishlist
Expect to see these technologies in a grey-zone battlefield in the not-too-distant future.
Science & Tech
Newly Revealed Experiment Shows How F-35 Could Help Intercept ICBMs
In 2014, the sensor-studded plane demonstrated an ability to track missiles, leading to a “tactically significant” improvement in targeting.
Science & Tech
Northrop Tests Spy Drones That Deploy in a Fake Bomb
The disposable Remedy is intended to drop from a fighter jet and fly slow enough to avoid radar.
Science & Tech
USAF General on Countering North Korea: ‘The Enemy Has Closed the Gap’
Various weapons meant to deter North Korea from developing nukes will arrive only in time to deter Kim from using them.
Science & Tech
Russia Will Build Its Own Internet Directory, Citing US Information Warfare
Moscow’s independent DNS may help it ward off cyber attacks — or mount its own.
Science & Tech
A Breakthrough in Soft Robot Muscles, Funded by the Military
Future military robots may come in softer, more cuddly, and stranger forms.
Science & Tech
Russia to the United Nations: Don’t Try to Stop Us From Building Killer Robots
UN efforts to limit or regulate military AI may be failing before they even begin.
Science & Tech