IN FLIGHT TO ANDREWS AFB: Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is pushing hard for artificial intelligence — but the US military will “never” unleash truly autonomous killing machines, he pledged today. “In many cases, and certainly whenever it comes to the application of force, there will never be true autonomy, because there’ll be human beings (in… Keep reading →

ABOARD USS GEORGE WASHINGTON: “It makes it real.” That’s what Tom Briggs, acting chief of test for the Navy, said as he watched F-35C after F-35C launched from the ship’s steam catapults during a long Monday. Briggs, who has led much of the testing for the Marines’ F-35Bs and the Navy’s F-35Cs, was visibly proud… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Marines, turn off your iPhone and dig yourself a foxhole. That’s the Commandant’s message to young troops, based on embarrassing experiences in recent exercises. As cheap drones and other surveillance technologies spread worldwide, said Gen. Robert Neller, US forces must re-learn how to hide — both physically and electronically — from increasingly tech-savvy adversaries. “We’ve… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: All the boxes are ticked for the Air Force to declare the F-35A ready for combat. The final clearance hasn’t been given by the man who will decide, Air Combat Command’s Gen. Hawk Carlisle, but he has received all the data on the planes, pilots and maintainers, said Lt. Col. Steven Anderson, 388th Maintenance… Keep reading →

FARNBOROUGH: For much of the last few years when one thought of electronic warfare, one tended to think of Raytheon. After all, they’re building the Next Generation Jammer, right? BAE Systems would like to change that and is beginning to take a guarded but more public stance. For years, Air Force officials have declined to… Keep reading →

PENTAGON: The brand new Army Rapid Capabilities Office is studying proposals to spend between $50 and $100 million on urgently needed electronic warfare gear, Breaking Defense has learned. The options include sensors to detect radar and radio signals, and jammers to block them, mounted on ground vehicles, soldiers’ backpacks, and drones. Where will the money come… Keep reading →

UPDATED: Adds Air Force Statement  WASHINGTON: The administration’s nominee for Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. David Goldfein, came before the Senate Armed Services Committee this morning promising to improve Air Force relations with Congress. And Goldfein delivered, to the point of apparently agreeing with a pleased SASC chairman John McCain that the service should… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: There’s been a sea change in the Navy. Training and organizations are changing as admirals raised on missiles and torpedoes come to terms with cyber warfare — both as a potential weak point and as a weapon. “I don’t think we could have said it two years ago,” Vice Adm. Jan Tighe told me.… Keep reading →

CAPITOL HILL: In a rare public event, the No. 2 member of the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee (HPSCI), Rep. Adam, said a cyber attack on a US satellite could be considered an act of war. While this may sound like common sense to some, the question of whether using cyber to interfere with or disable… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: In a report out this morning, CSBA scholars Bryan Clark and Mark Gunzinger argue that we don’t just need new technology and new tactics to confront the growing missile threats from China and Russia, though lasers, railguns, and hypervelocity projectiles are all useful. We need a different missile defense mindset than what we have today, one that trusts… Keep reading →