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

Ukraine Fields an Armed Drone for Use Against Pro-Russian Forces

After much experimentation and disappointing American UAVs, the Ukrainian military has a drone of its own.

Science & Tech

Which Bugs Will Hackers Exploit First? Machine Learning Promises a Better Guess

Most vulnerabilities are known; defenders need a better way to know which ones pose an imminent threat.

Science & Tech

White House Speeds Up Decisions on Disclosing Dangerous Software Bugs

More agencies will be invited to the table, and more quickly, Trump’s cyber coordinator says.

Science & Tech

A Fight Is Brewing Between Congress and the Military Over Cyber War

Should in-theater commanders be allowed to launch attacks that currently require approval from the national command authority?

Science & Tech

China and the CIA Are Competing to Fund Silicon Valley’s AI Startups

The U.S. intelligence community is upping its early-stage investments in machine-learning companies — but Beijing is pouring in far more.

Science & Tech

China Has A Breakthrough in Spy-Proof Quantum Communications

By sending quantum information several kilometers, the researchers took a big step toward the future of information security.

Science & Tech

Russia Says It Will Field a Robot Tank that Outperforms Humans

A colonel who runs a research directorate says the Nehreta did well in recent exercises at proving grounds outside Moscow.