Author Archive
Patrick Tucker
Technology Editor, Defense One

Patrick Tucker is technology editor for Defense One. He’s also the author of The Naked Future: What Happens in a World That Anticipates Your Every Move? (Current, 2014). Previously, Tucker was deputy editor for The Futurist for nine years. Tucker has written about emerging technology in Slate, The Sun, MIT Technology Review, Wilson Quarterly, The American Legion Magazine, BBC News Magazine, Utne Reader, and elsewhere.
CXO Briefing
New Institute Will Study How the Defense Department Manages Itself
To “compete on a global stage,” DOD must get a handle on its management practices, Deputy Defense Secretary says.
- By Patrick Tucker
CXO Briefing
When May a Robot Kill? New DOD Policy Tries to Clarify
An updated policy tweaks wording in a bid to dispel confusion.
- By Patrick Tucker
Emerging Tech
Is This New Microwave Weapon the Answer to Iranian Drones?
Army awards $66 million contract to develop an EMP device that fries the electronics of incoming drones.
- By Patrick Tucker
Emerging Tech
Is China About To Destroy Encryption As We Know It? Maybe
A new research paper claims to offer a quantum-powered code-breaker of spectacular power. “If it's true, it's pretty disastrous,” says one expert.
- By Patrick Tucker
News
UFO Sightings By US Troops Surge
Intelligence officials cite recent efforts to reduce the stigma of reporting odd aerial phenomena. Many cases remain unexplained.
- By Patrick Tucker
Emerging Tech
The Physical Obstacles to the Pentagon’s Connect-Everything Vision
Jets, destroyers, and soldiers are very different data customers, but the Pentagon wants to serve them all equally.
- By Patrick Tucker
CXO Briefing
Ukraine Is Getting Nervous About Elon Musk
Kyiv is looking for alternatives to Musk’s Starlink internet terminals and worrying about rising misinformation on Twitter.
- By Patrick Tucker
CXO Briefing
White House Aims for Bio-Defense ‘Moonshots’ In New Strategy
Biden wants more rapid testing, vaccine production, etc. using breakthrough technologies.
- By Patrick Tucker
CXO Briefing
New National Security Strategy Returns Focus to Rules, Partnerships, and American Leadership
China is a “pacing” threat, Russia just an “acute” one—but international partnerships, the old global order are key to beating both.
- By Patrick Tucker
CXO Briefing
How Will the Military Use 5G? A New Drone Experiment Offers Clues
High-speed, low-latency networks promises to help bring AI to bear on floods of battlefield sensor data.
- By Patrick Tucker
Emerging Tech
The U.S. Military Is Buying Electric Jet-ski Robots
Tests will see whether battery-powered personal watercraft can help with search-and-rescue
- By Patrick Tucker
Emerging Tech
US Soldiers Provide Telemaintenance as Ukrainians MacGyver Their Weapons
Milley visits Polish airbase to check on defenses, American repair crew.
- By Patrick Tucker
CXO Briefing
US Trails China in Key Tech Areas, New Report Warns
Ex-Google, DOD leaders paint dire picture unless U.S. organizes to win technology races.
- By Patrick Tucker and Lauren C. Williams
Cybersecurity
An Experiment Showed that the Military Must Change Its Cybersecurity Approach
The Defense Department’s current “checklist” approach can’t keep its networks safe.
- By Patrick Tucker
Emerging Tech
CENTCOM Launches Competition For Innovation from Troops
The ‘Shark Tank’-like competition will pull solutions from active-duty personnel for possible use in the field.
- By Patrick Tucker
Data
Can a Fitness App Ease the Military’s Recruitment Crisis?
App gives recruiters a tool to monitor how their recruits are shaping up before shipping out.
- By Patrick Tucker
Emerging Tech
The Navy Is Testing 5G For Future Forward Operating Bases
From drone-deployed 5G networks to digital twinning, a small 5G pilot is rewriting the rules for battlefield connectivity.
- By Patrick Tucker
Emerging Tech
How NORAD Plans to Ward Off Cruise Missiles Fired at the US
The command has goals for 2025 and 2030, but wants more guidance from the Pentagon.
- By Kevin Baron and Patrick Tucker
CXO Briefing
Russia Seems to Be Running Low on Drones
The Russian military wrote the book on tactical drones in 2014. Now its leaders are begging foreign partners and regional officials to help replace downed UAVs.
- By Patrick Tucker
CXO Briefing
Marines Look To A Future Where More Authority, Intel Moves to the Edge
Commandant sees empowered battlefield commanders, and new support roles further from the front lines.
- By Patrick Tucker