2024 in review: Defense systems

Spy agency ready to launch new vehicle-tracking satellites
After tests go well, NRO director looks to start replacing JSTARS aircraft with orbital sensors.
Audrey Decker, Staff Writer

Meet the Air Force’s secretive long-range drone that flies for days
The robot surveillance aircraft can fly for 80 hours without refueling.
Audrey Decker, Staff Writer

B-21 production is a go, Pentagon says
Defense undersecretary confirms Northrop Grumman has approval to start making non-test variants of the stealth bomber.
Audrey Decker, Staff Writer

Giant military manta ray drone passes first ocean test
Manta Ray prototype demonstrates propulsion, steering in step toward “real-world operations.”
Patrick Tucker, Science & Technology Editor

US Army rushes to boost defenses as Russia ups strike-drone autonomy
From the Red Sea to the Pacific, the drone and counter-drone game is accelerating.
Patrick Tucker, Science & Technology Editor

The Pentagon is already testing tomorrow’s AI-powered swarm drones, ships
DOD pulled off unmanned amphibious landings, self-coding drones, and more just in the last year. What's next?
Patrick Tucker, Science & Technology Editor

Chinese hacking operations have entered a far more dangerous phase, US warns
“This is truly an Everything Everywhere, All at Once scenario,” one official said.
Patrick Tucker, Science & Technology Editor

'Fast movers': Chinese satellites zoom around for inspections—or interference
In a previously unreported incident, one of China's maneuvering satellites was tracked and approached by a Russian one.
David D. Chen and Peter W. Singer

The Marines want to ‘litter the battlefield’ with anti-drone sensors
Some units will get portable devices within a year, officials said.
Sam Skove, Staff Writer

'ChatGPT, plan my top-secret mission'
Microsoft adds an air-gapped generative AI tool to its cloud services for classified workloads.
Adam Mazmanian, Editor-at-Large, Nextgov/FCW