Defense
The Netherlands joins US Air Force’s robot wingman program
The U.S. ally also agreed to develop small drones for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance with General Atomics.
DOD would curtail long-term intelligence work during government shutdown
Routine spying activities conducted by NSA, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and others would continue, but some forward-looking intelligence planning would be halted, a department document shows.
Pentagon bans tech vendors from using China-based personnel following a ProPublica investigation
The Defense Department has tightened cybersecurity requirements for its cloud services providers. The changes come after ProPublica revealed how Microsoft’s use of China-based engineers left sensitive government
Pentagon sets start date for CMMC implementation
Step one involves getting this new cyber and supply chain security standard into solicitations as the Defense Department sees the full rollout as taking three years.
Pentagon stands up new task force to coordinate anti-drone efforts
The Army will be in charge of the outfit, which will replace the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office.
Defense tech office cuts staff down to 40
The cuts to the Defense Technical Information Center are intended to refocus it on “its core statutory mission” according to a Pentagon spokesperson.
The Army’s giant data deal with Palantir is a harbinger: service CIO
The 10-year, up-to-$10 billion deal is part of a larger effort to consolidate IT contracts and save money, Leonel Garciga told reporters.
Secret spaceplane heading back up to test new tech
The Boeing-built X-37B will go on its eighth mission in August.
Pentagon will ‘open the door’ to more companies for next major cloud contract
The Pentagon’s tech chief said JWCC Next will look a little different than its $9 billion predecessor.
Microsoft ends use of China-based engineers to patch DOD systems
The move comes after a ProPublica report highlighted a Microsoft program that allows foreign engineers to indirectly interact with U.S. military systems through American “escort” intermediaries.
Pentagon to become rare earth mining company's largest stockholder
The Defense Department will buy a 15% stake in MP Materials and fund the construction of a magnet-making facility, all with an eye toward breaking the U.S.' reliance on China for rare earths.
Secure comms with allies is hard. The Pentagon wants to change that
The department is working on an effort to streamline a complex set of classified networks they use with allies and partners.
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Fresh evidence shows Iran’s nuclear program was ‘severely damaged,’ CIA director says
The claim follows reports of a DIA assessment that had determined the program was set back by only a few months.
US strikes didn’t fully wipe Iran nuclear program, early intel assessment says
A preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency report says Iran’s nuclear program has only been set back by some months, undercutting public claims from the White House that the nation’s nuclear capabilities were obliterated after a bombing run over the weekend.
Pentagon orders civilian employees to submit money-saving ideas
It’s the last step in the "5 bullet points" weekly email exercise.
For DOD, the future of large language models is smaller
Everyone loves big AI, but “maybe there is a smaller-parameter model that could run on a laptop.”
Trump’s Pentagon-personnel nominee wants to curb DOGE data access
But Anthony Tata, a retired Army general, couldn’t outrun past inflammatory and social media posts during his confirmation hearing.
Judge orders agencies to preserve discussions in airstrike Signal chat
The directive targets communications in a Signal chat with top intelligence and national security officials between March 11 and March 15 that discussed strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. The Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief was inadvertently added to that chat.
Intelligence officials remain defensive on Signal debate
House testimony followed release of full group-chat transcript — including attack times and weapons.
‘Sloppy,’ ‘incompetent’ intelligence chiefs hammered for Signal chat
At Senate hearing, Gabbard, Ratcliffe struggled to recall details of Yemen-strike chat shared with journalist.
