Business

Air Force Buys Mysterious Israeli Weapon to Kill ISIS Drones

What is this secret weapon? Pentagon officials aren’t saying, but here are some clues.

Science & Tech

The Drones of ISIS

Islamic State fighters are launching an ever-wider assortment of deadly drones, even as their UAV factories come under heavy attack.

Science & Tech

Wanted by the Military: An Ender’s Game Controller for Urban Robot Swarms

The Pentagon is looking for a single controller to enable dismounted ground troops to steer "hundreds" of drones for urban warfare.

Science & Tech

A Team of Drones Pulls Off a (Staged) Search-and-Rescue Mission

Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky merger leads to unique demonstration involving drones large and small.

Science & Tech

The US Army’s Next Drone May Fit in a Soldier’s Pocket

The service could start buying palm-sized UAVs to complement its Pumas and Ravens as soon as 2018, according to one official.

Science & Tech

UK Is Crowdsourcing Its Swarming Drone Attacks

It’s looking for ways to allow a single soldier to control up to 20 drones at once.

Science & Tech

US Army Racing to Catch Up to Russia On Battle Drones

After watching UAVs dominate eastern Ukrainian skies, the service is seeking counter-drone tech and new families of flying robots.

Science & Tech

Report: Weapons AI Increasingly Replacing, Not Augmenting, Human Decision Making

A new survey of existing and planned smart weapons finds that AI is increasingly used to replace humans, not help them.

Science & Tech

Tomorrow’s Laser-Armed Helicopter Drones

First come powerful generators, then autonomy, then directed energy, says LightningStrike maker.

Science & Tech

Special Operators Are Getting a New Autonomous Tactical Drone

A prototype microdrone that maps a building’s rooms will change the urban battlefield.

Science & Tech

These Swarming Drones Launch from a Fighter Jet’s Flare Dispensers

The Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office is building — and rapidly improving — them with commercial parts and 3D-printed fuselages.

Ideas

‘Autonomy’: A Smart Overview of the Pentagon’s Robotic Plans

But the long-awaited Defense Science Board study tiptoes around the question of armed autonomous systems.

Science & Tech

The Pentagon Needs You To Help Them Take Down Small Drones

As tiny drones proliferate and make their way onto the battlefield, the Pentagon calls for solutions.

Threats

As Wars Demand Intel, Air Force Boosts Drone Pilot Bonuses

Secretary James hopes an extra $10,000 will ease the strain on careers and families.

Science & Tech

The Navy’s Future Submarines May Go to Sea with Robot Remoras

The sucker-headed fish are drawing attention as the fleet imagines ways to bring drones to the undersea domain.

Policy

All of Cleveland Will Be a 'No Drone Zone' for the GOP Convention

The Secret Service says the rule—which covers 82.47 square miles of land and water—is just business as usual.

Science & Tech

The Navy Is Making a New GPS for Drone Submarines

Right now, GPS signals can barely travel below the surface of the ocean.

Threats

The Drone War Crosses Another Line

America took an unprecedented step over the weekend when Obama authorized the Pentagon rather than the CIA to carry out an airstrike inside Pakistan.

Science & Tech

Pentagon Testing Small Robot to Help Hunt Naval Mines

The US military has been looking for an underwater bomb disposal robot for years. It finally has one.