Author Archive

Tara Copp

Senior Pentagon Reporter, Defense One

Tara Copp
Tara Copp is senior Pentagon correspondent for Defense One. Copp has reported through the Middle East, Asia and Europe to cover defense policy and its impact on the lives of service members. Her investigative reporting on military aviation accidents and on skyrocketing veteran cancer rates drove Congressional hearings and legislation. Before returning to journalism, she worked as a senior defense analyst at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, focused on readiness and military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. She is a Plan II graduate of the University of Texas and earned her masters in Security Studies at Georgetown University.
Policy

Will Space Force Protect Orbiting Gas Stations and Bases on the Moon?

As U.S. companies venture farther from Earth, whether the newest service will protect them remains under discussion.

  • Tara Copp
Science & Tech

The Air & Space Brief: Nuclear propulsion for satellites, New space launch record, CR threatens B-21, GBSD

  • Tara Copp
Policy

Military Chiefs Sound Alarm at Proposal to Hold 2022 Spending to Last Year’s Level

In Wednesday testimony to lawmakers, service leaders decry what would be a record-breaking continuing resolution.

  • Marcus Weisgerber and Tara Copp
Threats

Air & Space Brief: Who’s running natsec space?; Su-75, just vapor?; Space telescope passes milestone.

  • Tara Copp
Threats

Private Group Keeps Afghanistan Evacuations Flying Despite Ground Halt

Group leader: “There are Americans saying, ‘Help me, help me, help me.’ And the State Department is saying, ‘Fill out your form in triplicate.’”

  • Tara Copp
Threats

The Air & Space Brief: New Year’s Day blast; Microwave-to-solar power, 2021’s ‘Top Tens’

  • Tara Copp
Threats

Today's D Brief: Army’s do-it-all vaccine; New Russia sanctions?; Libyan election uncertainty; Space-based solar power; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson, Bradley Peniston, Tara Copp and Jennifer Hlad
Exclusive Science & Tech

US Army Creates Single Vaccine Against All COVID & SARS Variants, Researchers Say

Within weeks, Walter Reed researchers expect to announce that human trials show success against Omicron—and even future strains.

  • Tara Copp
Threats

The Air & Space Brief: New social-media limits, drone warfare, SpaceX’s 100th landing

  • Tara Copp
Threats

Click ‘Like’, Get Punished Under Pentagon’s New Anti-Extremism Policy

First update since 2012 adds rules for social-media behavior.

  • Tara Copp
Threats

At Least 458 U.S. Crimes Tied to Extremism Involved Veterans, Active Duty Troops

The “underlying factors are not going away,” says one researcher.

  • Tara Copp
Featured eBooks
The Cybersecurity Challenge
Army Tech & Trends
Mission: Space
Policy

State Guards’ Vaccine Refusal Sets Up Fight with Feds

Six governors are rejecting the Pentagon’s order to inoculate their troops against COVID. Is a lawsuit next?

  • Tara Copp
Threats

The Air & Space Brief: China’s spaceplane; Satellite attack response; AI targeting failures

  • Tara Copp
Threats

The Combat Mission in Iraq Has Ended. But Troops Aren’t Coming Home

Train-advise-assist will continue, Pentagon says, with no force cuts planned.

  • Tara Copp
Threats

Biden Rules Out Sending Troops to Ukraine, at Least for Now

NSA Sullivan says U.S. will limit its support for Kyiv to weapons, pressure in the face of Moscow’s buildup.

  • Tara Copp
Threats

The Air & Space Brief: No invasion ‘red lines.’ Overhyped hypersonics? And a DIA ‘slow boil…’

  • Tara Copp
Policy

Austin Rejects ‘Red Lines’ for Taiwan, Ukraine

As crises loom, defense secretary reveals a bit of his diplomacy-first thinking.

  • Tara Copp
Policy

Austin Warns Against Over-Hyping Recent Chinese Weapons Tests

The defense secretary also pushed for deeper ties between the Pentagon and technology firms.

  • Marcus Weisgerber and Tara Copp
Threats

China’s Hypersonic Test ‘Increases Tension in the Region,’ Pentagon Chief Says

But Austin sought to downplay the new capability as just another concern.

  • Tara Copp
Threats

US, S. Korea to Write New War Plan to Counter N. Korean Nukes, Missiles

During visit, defense chiefs also expected to announce Seoul will test for long-awaited operational control of joint forces in 2022.

  • Tara Copp