Policy
INDOPACOM was all in on Anthropic. Now it’s working to adjust
The administration’s government-wide ban on the company’s AI tools has forced the command to work faster to be “model-neutral.”
Policy
NSA, Cyber Command get a permanent leader, ending 11-month gap
Gen. Joshua Rudd has spent his career largely in special operations and joint command roles.
Threats
Russia-linked hackers appear on Iran war’s cyber front, but their impact is murky
Some experts question the significance of pro-Russia “hacktivist” groups.
Exclusive
Policy
A year into Hegseth’s cuts, defense civilians report ‘degraded performance’ and low morale
And the hiring freeze is still keeping overseas civilians from taking new jobs stateside.
Threats
SecDef leaves Iran war’s timeline in Trump’s hands
The Pentagon is focusing on operational objectives for success, leaving out Trump’s calls for “unconditional surrender” and an “acceptable” new leader.
Science & Tech
New science on heat is changing the future of soldiering
Suffering in the sun doesn’t make better troops.
Business
Anthropic sues DOD, Hegseth, and a dozen other federal agencies
The company asserts that its designation as a supply-chain risk is an illegal retaliation, not an action to protect national security.
Exclusive
Policy
Hegseth presses Defense civilians to deploy for immigration enforcement
"We all think it's absurd," one Army civilian told Defense One.
Ideas
Take the win. Stop the war.
Killing leaders is the easy part. The post-9/11 wars show that it’s what follows that turns into a disaster.
Science & Tech
Meet the startups trying to build military-specific AI
The Anthropic-Pentagon feud revealed a giant gap between what giant frontier models do and what troops actually need.
Ideas
The quantum curtain
What if citizens get unbreakable encryption? Welcome to the latest edition of Fictional Intelligence.
Business
Missile makers agree to ‘quadruple’ production, Trump says
The announcement comes after months of White House pressure on defense companies to build weapons faster.
Policy
Trump's new cyber strategy calls for tougher responses to threats
Released Friday afternoon, the new strategy is notably shorter than those issued by Biden and the first Trump administration.
Business
The Pentagon’s investment deals draw congressional scrutiny
DOD weapons buyer Michael Duffey testified about the decision to invest $1 billion in L3Harris.
Threats
The US says it destroyed Iran’s space command. Experts say it wasn’t much of a threat.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ nascent space program has only a handful of satellites.
Threats
‘Firepower about to surge dramatically’ over Iran: Hegseth
The defense secretary asserts that the U.S. has no shortage of munitions.
Policy