Science & Tech

The Air Force Wants To Make Its Drones Smarter and Deadlier

The Reaper's next chapter includes better sensors, more autonomy, bigger weapons.

Science & Tech

Hacking Critical Infrastructure: A How-To Guide

Cyber-aided physical attacks on power plants and the like are a growing concern. A pair of experts is set to reveal how to pull them off — and how to defend against them.

Science & Tech

This Isn’t The Death Star Laser You’re Looking For

Japanese scientists have created the world’s most powerful light beam, but its military use is limited.

Science & Tech

US Drone Pilots Are As Skeptical of Autonomy As Are Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk

There are many reasons to be cautious about greater autonomy in weapons like drones, according to the men and women at the joystick.

Science & Tech

The Military Will Test a New Terrifyingly Loud Noise Gun

The Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program is developing lasers that create a screaming ball of plasma on their target.

Threats

You're Safe-ish from Anthrax, For Now

Pentagon investigation into accidental anthrax shipments blames bad processes for killing spores.

Business

You’re Safe-ish from Anthrax, For Now

Pentagon investigation into accidental anthrax shipments blames bad processes for killing spores.

Threats

Turkey Opens Key Air Bases for US Strikes On ISIS

The newly approved use of Incirlik Air Base and others for bombing missions will greatly reduce the distance U.S. warplanes must fly to their targets.

Science & Tech

In The War of 2050, The Robots Call The Shots

An Army-sponsored workshop on the future of war produces a mashed-up vision of swarmbots, cyborgs, and technology run wild.

Business

Why Lone Wolf Attacks Are So Hard To Predict

Events like the shootings in Tennessee show the possibilities and limitations of predictive analytics.

Science & Tech

How Antimatter Could Stop Iran From Cheating On the Nuclear Deal

Advanced particle detectors could be the key to ensuring the success of the agreement.

Threats

To Prevent Insider Threats, DOD Must First Define ‘Normal’

The Pentagon thinks it can build an automated system to predict and prevent future Fort Hood-style attacks. But it’s a problem as big as big data itself.

Science & Tech

What Will Happen To You When You Storm a US Military Checkpoint?

The military has put a lot of effort into making checkpoint encounters less lethal, through the application of some bizarre-sounding technologies.

Science & Tech

How Technology Will Help Enforce the Iran Deal...And Help Iran Cheat On It

The UN’s nuclear monitors have great new sensors, but eavesdropping gear and radioactive residue will make their job harder than ever.

Ideas

What the Fighter of the Future Will Look Like

The next 15 years will change troops’ gear in virtually every respect, from body armor to communications to robot interactions.

Threats

Here’s the Biggest Difference Between US and Chinese Military Policy

What their public strategy documents say about the world’s leading military power and its up-and-coming rival.

Science & Tech

The Best Way To Stick It To Dictators, Help Dissidents, and Boost Privacy

It makes the Internet safer and allows people living under autocracy to get around government censors. But the FBI wants to break it.

Science & Tech

How To Break Into the CIA’s Cloud on Amazon

Looking to steal America’s spy data from Amazon? Hope you’re up for a challenge.

Science & Tech

Someone Just Leaked The Price List for Cyberwar

A controversial cyber arms dealer gets hacked, revealing sales to the US military and less savory customers around the world.

Business

Neller Tapped as Marine Corps Commandant

Lt. Gen. Robert Neller now awaits Senate confirmation as the latest addition to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s national security team at the Pentagon.