Defense One

Insights & Reports July 3, 2026 08:00 AM ET Technology Nuclear How many missions could a drone or satellite fly with a battery pack that can last decades? And what if that battery could be fueled by nuclear waste? That’s the future scientists are working toward in DARPA’s “Rads to Watts” program, which aims to create lightweight batteries with a high energy density.

Insights & Reports As Space Force leaders push for more orbital warfighting capabilities and even potential moon operations, senators want to make sure they have enough space-focused military lawyers for future conflicts.

Insights & Reports July 2, 2026 10:00 AM ET White House Intelligence President Donald Trump said Wednesday that acting spy chief Bill Pulte can declassify “whatever” records he wants and can declassify “almost everything,” a sweeping green light that has alarmed former intelligence officials, who warn that careless releases could expose sensitive intelligence capabilities and sidestep standard review processes with other spy agencies.

Insights & Reports President Donald Trump said Wednesday that acting spy chief Bill Pulte can declassify “whatever” records he wants and can declassify “almost everything,” a sweeping green light that has alarmed former intelligence officials, who warn that careless releases could expose sensitive intelligence capabilities and sidestep standard review processes with other spy agencies.

Insights & Reports The Department of Defense plans to bring new models onto its internal, department-wide artificial intelligence marketplace and deploy them at higher classification levels, part of its updated procurement policy that aims for “commercial-first” in its deliverables.

Insights & Reports July 1, 2026 09:10 PM ET Pentagon Drones All of the Pentagon’s drone and counterdrone efforts for air, land, and sea will now fall under a new organization and director who will report to the deputy defense secretary, according to a memo released Wednesday. “Unmanned and autonomous systems are a strategic priority” and “essential to maintaining decisive military advantage,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in a memo dated June 29 that was released Wednesday.

Skip to Content Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Insights & Reports WASHINGTON—The counterdrone industry is booming. So to keep up with—and anticipate—demands, radar-maker Echodyne wants to make 30,000 units a year by early 2027. The company, which is headquartered in Washington state, began building out a new facility near Seattle earlier this year and plans to have it up and running in July.

Insights & Reports Exercise Balikatan was “a real strategic victory” that showed how far the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment has come, its commander said. “There's a lot more growth to happen, there's a lot more work. But this was a pretty good year to kind of showcase something that went from concept to a real capability that certainly the joint force and the combined force is appreciative of,” Col.

MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII—On rifle ranges inside a volcanic crater, and in an urban training facility built to train for deployments to Iraq, Marines from several different countries spent the weekend alongside their U.S. counterparts, shooting rifles, clearing rooms, and practicing other tactical skills they’ll need if called to war.

Insights & Reports June 30, 2026 07:48 PM ET Cloud Industry Technology Amazon Web Services and Anduril are combining the tech giant’s on-site cloud computers and the defense contractor’s mobile data center to bring edge computing to the frontlines. Both have already been used during the Iran war. Anduril’s containerized command and data center, Menace-I, can now be outfitted with Amazon Web Services’s Outpost, the two companies announced Tuesday.