The release of the 2020 defense budget is still over a month away, and it’s already been a wild ride. A look at what has happened, and what might happen next.

Given the two-year break from sequestration, the Pentagon is hurrying up to hire civilians to push the modernization of the force to head off advances by China and Russia, a new DoD strategy document says.

The Pentagon wants its new AI center up and running in six months, but is taking a different track on directed energy and hypersonics, Deputy Defense Secretary Shanahan says.

Among the many anxieties inspired by the rise of Trump, one of the most profound is his fondness for generals. Does naming so many retired military men to top positions undermine the principal of civilian control? How might their shared experiences in our post-9/11 conflicts shape the way they govern? This week, award-winning defense reporter… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: In real-world warfare, troops and tanks maneuver to take advantage of the terrain. In the looking-glass world of cyberspace, however, “maneuver” may mean changing the terrain itself. If the enemy’s invading your country, you can dig a trench or blow a bridge, but otherwise you go to war with the landscape you have. If… Keep reading →

We’ve heard national security leaders at the highest levels say it repeatedly: we are not prepared for cyber war. Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency and commander of U.S. Cyber Command, made it clear when he rated America’s readiness for addressing a catastrophic cyber attack “three on a scale of ten.” Homeland… Keep reading →

A year has passed since Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the Budget Control Act-the legislation mandating sequestration. Funding cuts that once seemed politically remote now loom large for leaders increasingly anxious about the impact $1.2 trillion in automatic budget reductions will have upon their respective districts and states. An estimated two million… Keep reading →

The defense budget is going down…have you heard? The presidential campaign is shedding a lot of heat, but very little light on this reality; you won’t hear much of substance about how or where it will go down. Or much sensible or reasonable discussion about how we manage a defense build-down in a way that… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: On a fine spring day in the nation’s capital, I’m not the only one to succumb to the temptation to work from home instead of heading into an airless office building. But cybersecurity experts warn that when I log into the AOL server to upload this article, I’m also opening a door for malware… Keep reading →

The U.S. military can jump-start commercialization of energy innovations by serving as a test bed for new ideas, top Department of Defense officials say. Dorothy Robyn, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment, told the Edison Foundation’s Powering the People 2.0 conference in Washington March 22 that DOD manages over 300,000 buildings –… Keep reading →