Defense news

• Space Force Unveils Latest Command Shuffle

  08-04-2021 22:34 via defenseone.com
  
  The newly-named Space Systems Command is redesigned to coordinate the military’s launches better, act faster, and boost research to counter ‘growing threats.’
  
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• New science on heat is changing the future of soldiering

  09-03-2026 23:52 via defenseone.com
  Wearable biometrics, improved science, and more data are changing U.S. Army attitudes toward human performance—particularly how soldiers adapt to the risks of overheating. The U.S. military has been studying the effects of heat on troops for almost a century, dating to the 1927 establishment of the Harvard Fatigue Laboratory at the military's request. Still, soldiers’ and commanders’ approach to core physical tasks—think timed runs, strenuous outdoor activity, or env
  
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• Anthropic sues DOD, Hegseth, and a dozen other federal agencies

  09-03-2026 22:14 via defenseone.com
  Anthropic is suing more than a dozen federal agencies and government leaders such as iDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth, claiming that the federal government's blacklist is illegal retaliation.In a March 9 court filing with the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, Anthropic claims that defendants named in the lawsuit are illegally punishing Anthropic for its decision not to change the terms of use for its AI product to work with the Department of Defe
  
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• Take the win. Stop the war.

  09-03-2026 21:32 via defenseone.com
  The end of a dictator like Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a good thing and freedom for Iranians is an admirable goal. But as U.S. regime wars in the Middle East since 9/11 have shown, removing leaders is one thing, while strategic successes are quite another. The longer the strikes continue, the greater the chances that more U.S. troops will die and the United States will be dragged into a bigger war. The Trump administration has offered handfuls of reasons for
  
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• The D Brief: US toll rises to 8; Iran’s new leader; Building military-specific AI; Counting the rationales for war; And a bit more.

  09-03-2026 16:25 via defenseone.com
  US-Israeli war on Iran, day 10: Eight American troops have died in the Middle East since the war on Iran began more than a week ago. U.S. and Israeli air and naval strikes continue in Iran and Lebanon; Iranian drone attacks continue in response. U.S. military officials on Sunday announced the seventh soldier to perish from the war’s initial attack and retaliation waves last weekend. “The service member was seriously wounded at the scene of an attack on U.S. troops in the Ki
  
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• Unmanned in the air and at sea at World Defense Show 2026

  09-03-2026 06:00 via breakingdefense.com
  Middle East Bureau Chief Agnes Helou gets up close and personal with some American unmanned platforms in Saudi Arabia.
  
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• Meet the startups trying to build military-specific AI

  08-03-2026 13:00 via defenseone.com
  The battle between AI model builder Anthropic and the Pentagon has exposed a huge gap between what AI tools the military wants and what companies like Anthropic, xAI, and OpenAI actually make: AI tools for use by everyone, not specifically for the military. A handful of veteran-run or -financed startups aim to fill that gap. Their pitch: AI for war should have some basic understanding of war, beyond reading Tom Clancy fan fiction. It shouldn’t confidently offer low-confidence answers just
  
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• The quantum curtain

  07-03-2026 16:45 via defenseone.com
  Discussions of quantum computing regularly predict the end of digital secrecy, which would have society-altering consequences. But what if the opposite happens? If quantum encryption software becomes available to citizens around the world, digital secrets might become harder to harvest, altering intelligence collection and national security. Governments have no monopoly on quantum science, meaning that a breakthrough could come as a complete surprise—and that its use and dis
  
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• Missile makers agree to ‘quadruple’ production, Trump says

  07-03-2026 05:07 via defenseone.com
  Defense companies have agreed to make four times as many missiles, President Donald Trump said Friday, denying reports that his war on Iran was quickly draining stocks of key munitions. “They have agreed to quadruple Production of ‘Exquisite Class’ Weaponry in that we want to reach, as rapidly as possible, the highest levels of quantity,” Trump wrote in a post on his social-media network, Truth Social. No quantities, weapons, or timelines were specified.The White Hou
  
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• How technology, strategy and industry are shaping the next fleet

  07-03-2026 03:35 via breakingdefense.com
  Unmanned systems, digital integration, and emerging technologies are transforming U.S. naval operations. Breaking Defense’s new eBook takes a deep dive into these innovations and what they mean for the future of naval power.
  
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• Trump's new cyber strategy calls for tougher responses to threats

  06-03-2026 23:53 via defenseone.com
  The White House's new national cybersecurity strategy calls for responding more directly to threats and securing critical U.S. technologies.As described in a seven-page document released on Friday afternoon, the strategy has six pillars: shape adversary behavior; promote common-sense regulation; modernize and secure federal government networks; secure critical infrastructure; sustain superiority in critical and emerging technologies; an
  
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• Defense companies to quadruple production of ‘exquisite’ weapons: Trump

  06-03-2026 23:15 via breakingdefense.com
  It’s unclear whether President Donald Trump’s meeting with defense executives at the White House pushes munitions production beyond previously-announced agreements.
  
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• 3,000 strikes, 43 ships hit: US operations against Iran by the numbers

  06-03-2026 20:12 via breakingdefense.com
  The US says it has hit more than 3,000 targets, while Iran has retaliated by launching attacks on a dozen countries.
  
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• Anthropic CEO says Pentagon ban less harsh than Hegseth had threatened

  06-03-2026 19:36 via breakingdefense.com
  CEO Dario Amodei said he would still sue to overturn the designation of Anthropic as a “supply chain risk,” but he said the company was “having productive conversations with the Department of War” — which Pentagon CTO Emil Michael promptly denied.
  
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• Swiss cutting F-35 order by six, facing up to five year Patriot delay

  06-03-2026 19:30 via breakingdefense.com
  By deciding against a request to secure funding for all 36 jets and move ahead with a reduced buy, the Swiss Federal Council accepted that “negative consequences” are to come.
  
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• The D Brief: Russia’s helping Iran; Updated strike map; Drone threats; DOD’s new CDO; And a bit more.

  06-03-2026 17:37 via defenseone.com
  US-Israeli war on Iran, day 7: Moscow joins Tehran: Russia is giving Iran the locations of U.S. forces, including warships and aircraft, the Washington Post reported Thursday, citing three anonymous officials. “The assistance, which has not been previously reported, signals that the rapidly expanding conflict now features one of America’s chief nuclear-armed competitors with exquisite intelligence capabilities.” Second opinion: “In Iran’s War, Russia Serve
  
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• US sinking of Iranian navy ship stirs controversy in Australia, India

  06-03-2026 17:25 via breakingdefense.com
  Australia has confirmed that three of its sailors were on board the nuclear-powered attack submarine when it struck the Iranian frigate, though Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has denied that they took part in the action.
  
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• Pentagon’s new chief data officer to push ‘AI capabilities to warfighters’

  06-03-2026 17:18 via breakingdefense.com
  The Pentagon announced two key hires for data and cybersecurity positions.
  
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• ‘New status quo’: Germany reaches for European conventional military dominance

  06-03-2026 15:47 via breakingdefense.com
  Analysts noted that after decades of underinvestment, Berlin is flipping the script by moving ahead with a seismic increase in defense spending, set to hit a high mark in 2029 of €150 billion a year.
  
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• The Pentagon’s investment deals draw congressional scrutiny

  06-03-2026 15:00 via defenseone.com
  Lawmakers have questions about the Pentagon’s increased keenness to take partial ownership stakes in companies, demanding details from defense officials while they weigh the need for legislation. Government equity investment adds pressure on companies to “stimulate growth” and production without “pursuing control,” Michael Duffey, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer, said Wednesday during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the defense industrial bas
  
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• The US says it destroyed Iran’s space command. Experts say it wasn’t much of a threat.

  06-03-2026 05:10 via defenseone.com
  U.S. forces destroyed Iran’s military space command, Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command, announced Thursday, saying the move degraded the regime’s ability to coordinate retaliatory strikes. But experts told Defense One that the country’s nascent space capabilities never posed a significant threat. “We've also struck Iran's equivalent of Space Command, which degrades their ability to threaten Americans,” Cooper said during a press conference.The Islam
  
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• ‘Firepower about to surge dramatically’ over Iran: Hegseth

  06-03-2026 00:57 via defenseone.com
  The U.S.’s war with Iran is about to go up a notch, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday during a press briefing at U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Fla., as the bombing campaign’s sixth day came to a close.Hegseth batted away concerns about U.S. munitions stockpiles, seeming to suggest that as Iran’s capabilities are weakened, the remaining missiles are stretching further.“Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation
  
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• Air Force cybersecurity chief tapped to lead Pentagon's information-security efforts

  05-03-2026 22:42 via defenseone.com
  The Department of Defense has a new acting leader for its cybersecurity enterprise, with the agency tapping former Air Force Chief Information Security Officer James “Aaron” Bishop to serve as the department-wide CISO and deputy chief information officer for cybersecurity. The move was announced Feb. 27, a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed to Nextgov/FCW on Thursday.Bishop takes over for David McKeown, who is retiring from the government after more than four decades in federal ser
  
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• The Pentagon moves into the era of affordable mass

  05-03-2026 22:38 via defenseone.com
  The inaugural deployment of the LUCAS drone, a near-clone of the Iranian Shahed-136, signals a big Pentagon step into the era of affordable mass.For years, Western military doctrine relied on the assumption that superior technology could defeat superior numbers. But the opening salvos of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran have shown that even the world’s most advanced air defense network can be bankrupted by a sufficiently cheap enemy.The mostly U.S.-provided equipment mustered by U.S. security p
  
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• B-1, B-52 bombers join Trump’s war on Iran

  05-03-2026 21:35 via defenseone.com
  Decades-old B-1 and B-52 bombers have hit hundreds of Iranian military targets this week, and experts say it underscores the need to retire the former and modernize the latter for future conflicts against Russia and China.The two venerable aircraft are the latest additions to the list of platforms used in Operation Epic Fury, according to a CENTCOM fact sheet released this week. Gen. Dan Caine, the Joint Chiefs chairman, told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. military has hit “over 2,000 t
  
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• Drone threat ‘will far exceed’ that of GWOT’s roadside bombs

  05-03-2026 21:32 via defenseone.com
  With a timeline for the U.S.’s war with Iran very much up in the air, a task force assigned to improving the U.S.’s ability to down small drones both at home and abroad is eagerly awaiting lessons from the conflict—while moving as quickly as possible to make sure bases around the world are protected from retaliatory drone strikes.The threat is even bigger than that of the improvised explosive devices that devastated U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Global War on T
  
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• Drone threat ‘will far exceed’ GWOT’s roadside bomb threat: counter-drone task force director

  05-03-2026 21:32 via defenseone.com
  With a timeline for the U.S.’s war with Iran very much up in the air, a task force assigned to improving the U.S.’s ability to down small drones both at home and abroad is eagerly awaiting lessons learned from the conflict—while moving as quickly as possible to make sure bases around the world are protected from retaliatory drone strikes.The threat is even bigger than that of the improvised explosive devices that devastated U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Global
  
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• Drone Dominance: Pentagon to order 30,000 one-way drones in ‘next few days’

  05-03-2026 21:24 via breakingdefense.com
  The DoD is about to choose the winners from its “Gauntlet” unmanned exercise and provide successful systems to military units “over the next five months,” a DoD official said.
  
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• Multi-channel data link reshapes Navy’s communications capabilities

  05-03-2026 21:01 via breakingdefense.com
  [Sponsored] The Network Tactical Common Data Link system enables secure comms and ISR for carrier strike groups and their air and naval assets.
  
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• Trump to fire DHS Secretary Noem, picks Mullin as successor

  05-03-2026 20:56 via defenseone.com
  Kristi Noem will step down as secretary of the Homeland Security Department at the end of the month, President Trump announced on Thursday, amid a tumultuous period for the agency that has overseen the administration’s controversial immigration crackdown. Trump said on social media that he will nominate Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to replace her. He suggested the change would take effect March 31, though the DHS secretary requires Senate confirmation and the timing for such a
  
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