Threats

Security Clearance Delays Are Hurting the Pentagon's Tech Workforce

The Defense Department is also looking to build out its recruitment staff, officials told Congress.

Science & Tech

Are America's Companies Ready to Fight Russia & China? New Study Aims to Find Out

Reagan Institute panel sets out to identify the ‘National Security Innovation Base’ from workforce skills to technologies, labs, companies and academia.

Science & Tech

DARPA Thinks AI Could Help Troops Telepathically Control Machines

The Pentagon is looking to build artificial intelligence into neural interfaces to let humans control machines with their thoughts.

Science & Tech

DARPA Is Trying Bioelectric Implants to Help Heal Wounds

One of the Pentagon’s new research programs could see biosensors, actuators and even artificial intelligence implanted in soldiers to speed up the body’s healing processes.

Science & Tech

China’s Rapid AI Development Has Its Limits: Report

Chinese artificial-intelligence researchers are aware of ways their work lags the United States’ — and Beijing is working to fix those.

Science & Tech

New DNA Database Allows Far Faster Searches for Pathogen Genomes

For the first time, it’s possible to easily answer a question as simple as: “Have we seen this thing before?”

Science & Tech

DARPA Thinks Insect Brains Might Hold the Secret to Next-Gen AI

They’re small, efficient and capable of basic reasoning, and researchers want artificial intelligence tools to do the same.

Science & Tech

Quantum Computing That Can Crack Modern Encryption More Than a Decade Away

A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine suggests encryption-cracking quantum computers are possible, but won’t be built in the immediate future.

Business

Supersonic Bizjets May Attract Pentagon Interest

Three teams are pursuing latter-day SSTs. The U.S. military might have use for them.

Threats

China Is Secretly Enrolling Military Scientists in Western Universities

Dozens of scientists and engineers linked to China’s People’s Liberation Army obscured their military connections when applying to study overseas.

Science & Tech

Many of the US Military’s Newest Weapons Have Major Cyber Vulnerabilities: GAO

Testers achieved access with simple tools, default passwords, and long lists of known-yet-unfixed vulnerabilities.

Science & Tech

It’s Now Possible To Telepathically Communicate with a Drone Swarm

DARPA’s new research in brain-computer interfaces is allowing a pilot to control multiple simulated aircraft at once.

Science & Tech

The US Navy Is Hacking Wetsuits for Arctic Warfare

A new wetsuit treatment could allow troops to operate in frigid water for far longer.

Science & Tech

The Pentagon Wants AI to Take Over the Scientific Process

The project is part of DARPA’s newly launched Artificial Intelligence Exploration program, which aims to develop next-generation artificial intelligence applications.

Science & Tech

How Rocket-Makers Ensure 3D-Printed Parts are Strong Enough for Space

Measure them against an industrial standard for welding called AWS D17.1 Class A.

Business

Why Did Paul Allen Build the World’s Largest Aircraft?

The six-engine, twin-fuselage Stratolaunch has no commercial customers paying to give their rockets a lift. Are there secret military ones?

Science & Tech

DARPA Wants to Make Underground Maps on the Fly

The agency is challenging teams to build systems that chart caves, tunnels and underground urban infrastructure.

Science & Tech

China’s Robot Subs Will Lean Heavily on AI: Report

The leader of the classified 912 Project gives a rare interview. The question, as always, is why.

Science & Tech

U.S. Needs a National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, Lawmakers and Experts Say

The government is well-positioned to flag specific research areas that would have the biggest impact on national interests.