Science & Tech

For F-35's First Deployment, Marines Plan 'School of Hard Knocks'

Real-world missions will help the Corps chart its future with the plane, says the leader of the Marines’ Combat Development Command.

Science & Tech

Pentagon Eyes Missile-Defense Sensors In Space

Even as the Defense Department begins to build a giant new flight-tracking radar in Alaska, it is already thinking bigger — and much higher.

Science & Tech

The US Military Will ‘Be Left Behind’ If It Doesn’t Embrace Open-Source Software, Report Says

Amid a rising China and Russia, the Pentagon’s slow pace on the software front could cost it tactically for years to come.

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

US Gets Serious about Portable Nuke-Detector Prototypes

Homeland Security spends $20M to develop devices to find bombs being transported in ships, on metro systems, or in public places.

Science & Tech

There’s a Big Loophole in the Pentagon’s Guide to Eavesdropping

The new rules reflect a shift in intel-gathering from phone-tapping to capturing conversations on the internet.

Science & Tech

The Military Is Genetically Modifying Bacteria to Make Even Tinier Computers

The biosynthetic microbe could wire future nanoelectronics after Navy-funded researchers supercharged its conductivity.

Science & Tech

Twitter Suspends Another 235,000 Accounts Promoting Terrorism

ISIS is losing territory online, too, as Twitter joins social media companies accelerating efforts to purge extremist speech from their sites.

Science & Tech

Naval Aviators Describe How the F-35's Brains Will Change Air Warfare

They gave the F-35 rave reviews during a show-and-tell at sea, but questions remain about its troubled software.

Science & Tech

If There’s Malware In Your Toaster, the US Military Wants to Find It

The idea is to protect household appliances connected to the internet by remotely monitoring subtle changes in thermal signals transmitted under normal conditions.

Science & Tech

Pentagon Opens Boston Tech Outreach Office, With an Eye to BioTech

The East Coast Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental, or DIUx, joins the Pentagon’s other DIUx office, based in the Silicon Valley area and unveiled in 2015.

Science & Tech

How Putin Weaponized Wikileaks to Influence the Election of an American President

Evidence suggests that a Russian intelligence group was the source of the most recent Wikileaks intel dump, which was aimed to influence the U.S. election.

Science & Tech

A Quick Guide to the Jihadist Communications Toolkit

A new report documents how extremist groups’ use of secure digital tools software has evolved.

Science & Tech

Donald Trump Doesn’t Understand Cyberwar

The nominee is woefully unprepared for questions about the future of digital conflict.

Science & Tech

The Fight Over Consumer Encryption Is Moving Into a Strange New Phase

Law enforcement officials say it’s on the tech world and privacy advocates to prove that a backdoor would undermine data security.

Science & Tech

Pentagon Wants to Automate Social-Media Checks on Clearance Holders

The program would analyze public posts to help determine an employee's suitability for Defense Intelligence Agency classified work.

Science & Tech

The Pentagon’s Massive IT Consolidation Plan Is In Trouble

Defense officials can’t project the program's cost because of its complexity, and because officials can’t even agree what is or isn’t included.

Science & Tech

Is Your Network Acting Odd? DARPA’s Latest Tool Aims to Sound the Alarm

The system is intended to track activity across an entire network over long periods of time, seeking out deviations from normal activity.