Ideas
Trump’s defense-acquisition executive order hits the right notes
Conditions may finally be right for badly needed reforms, says a former defense industrial-policy chief.
Ideas
How drones, data, and AI transformed our military—and why the US must follow suit
A former Ukrainian commander-in-chief describes Ukraine’s DELTA battlefield-management system and other adaptations.
Policy
Defense acquisition, exports, and shipbuilding figure in trio of new executive orders
White House orders up plans and proposals for reducing costs and stimulating industrial base.
Policy
Space Force preps ‘international space strategy’ as US-ally ties fray
Gen. Saltzman said military-to-military relations are “business as usual.”
Policy
Confronted with ‘eye-opening’ costs, SecNav vows to root out waste
Phelan said his service is beginning to review existing acquisition contracts and will “demand accountability of the shipbuilding enterprise.”
Science & Tech
Marine Corps to field counter-drone systems to dismounted units
The fielding plans follow a September fly-off.
Updated
Policy
DOD, other agencies may once again fire probationary employees en masse, court rules
An appeals court removed a stay on Wednesday, echoing a Supreme Court ruling one day earlier.
Threats
Spies from China, elsewhere are wooing current and former feds, agencies warn
As the Trump administration targets hundreds of thousands of federal employees, the intelligence community is trying to keep them from spilling secrets.
Policy
Will Space Force shift contracts to commercial? ‘Everything’s on the table,' official says
The service is considering lower-cost commercial options that can be delivered faster, if the mission allows it.
Threats
Keep US troops in Europe, EUCOM commander says
Gen. Cavoli outlined security and military benefits to the United States from presence in Europe.
Threats
The US needs ‘weapons in space,’ SPACECOM head says
The Pentagon has long been hesitant to call for or acknowledge the development of orbital weaponry.
Breaking News
Policy
Pentagon can re-fire some probationary workers, Supreme Court says
High court says non-profits who sued to block firings lacked standing—but a second lawsuit is still pending.
Science & Tech
The Navy wants dashboards that holler before things break
Real-time data is great, leaders say, but they want something more predictive.
Science & Tech
Sub-drone sonar trap concept unveiled at Navy conference
Anduril and Ultra Maritime team up on a new-ish concept.
Science & Tech
‘All hands on deck' moment in the US-China AI race: Pentagon's former digital chief
Cloud providers, infrastructure builders, and federal agencies—“all of these pieces need to work together in a coherent ecosystem,” Radha Plumb said.
Policy
After NSA firings, will Trump appoint a loyalist to lead spy agency?
“No one, Republican or Democrat, wants to bring back" the domestic-surveillance abuses of the 1970s, one former NSA official said.
Business