Just like old times.
The officer leading the Golden Dome missile defense shield program warned that development will halt entirely without a resolution to the current budget impasse, stating directly that 'if they don't figure it out, there is no Golden Dome because there is no funding.'
Dig Deeper
Also from The War Zone, the deputy commander of U.S. Space Command argues that fusing missile warning and missile defense capabilities is essential to defeating emerging threats — a core architectural challenge for any Golden Dome system. And the Space Command has named offensive space weapons its top priority for next decade. Read more from SOFX.
Top Headlines
Pentagon Deputy Secretary Stephen Feinberg has made an unprecedented request for defense industry CEOs to bring their board members in for briefings, a move seen as consistent with his broader efforts to engage and maneuver within the defense industrial base.
The White House has authorized private cyber firms to conduct offensive operations against foreign targets, effectively reviving a form of privateering for the digital age and signaling a significant policy shift in how the U.S. wages cyber warfare by enlisting commercial actors as offensive instruments.
Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall announced plans to sue the Trump administration after the Pentagon revoked his security clearance, a move that has drawn scrutiny as part of a broader pattern of clearance revocations targeting Biden-era officials.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth presided over a ceremony renaming Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, to Joint Base Lindsey Graham in honor of the late senator, Air Force veteran, and South Carolina native.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology Joseph Jewell outlined early benefits of the Pentagon's reorganization aimed at enabling innovation, describing new structural changes designed to foster collaboration across defense research and development efforts.
DoD policy chief Elbridge Colby, on a multi-nation Asia tour, praised the AUKUS security partnership and delivered a pointed message to regional 'middle powers,' framing U.S. expectations as 'realistic and perhaps bracing, but also reassuring' amid ongoing Indo-Pacific strategy discussions. The tour underscores the Trump administration's effort to recalibrate alliance relationships across the region, with AUKUS — the submarine and advanced-technology pact linking the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia — serving as a model for the kind of integrated deterrence posture Colby is promoting.
U.S. Space Command is preparing to host a live-fly exercise in the coming weeks to test advanced maneuver concepts intended to inform its strategy for dynamic operations in orbit. The exercise will put real assets through orbital maneuver scenarios, generating data and operational insights that planners expect to feed directly into USSPACECOM's evolving doctrine for contested space environments.
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) plans to solicit new entrants for its next iteration of a $9 billion cloud-service contract vehicle, seeking to expand participation beyond the four major hyperscale cloud providers currently under contract.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal formally demanded Wednesday that the U.S. Navy provide a detailed accounting of conditions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, raising questions about the vessel's deployment circumstances and the state of readiness or habitability for its crew. The letter signals growing congressional scrutiny of how the service manages carrier operations and the welfare of sailors during extended deployments.
Dig Deeper
The scrutiny follows a report from Military Times Tuesday that multiple USS Abraham Lincoln sailors have tried to "go overboard" amid the carrier's extended deployment in the Middle East. The carrier is set to be replaced by the USS George Washington. Read more from NBC News.
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FeatureD Opinions
Federal agencies face compounding security and governance risks as AI adoption accelerates without clear ownership, oversight processes, or defined accountability structures for AI tools, leaving security programs vulnerable to gaps that grow faster than existing frameworks can address.
Matan Chorev, VP and director of RAND Global and Emerging Risks, discusses the most consequential national security challenges facing the United States, focusing on the intersection of AI capabilities and China's growing strategic competition with the U.S.
The Pentagon's research into human performance enhancement, including exoskeletons, pharmacological stimulants, and neural interfaces, raises questions about how close current military science is to producing the kind of augmented soldiers depicted in A24's film 'Onslaught.'
In the weeds
A policy paper argues that compute infrastructure—data centers, cloud, and AI processing capacity—has become a strategic national resource, and outlines recommendations for the U.S. to expand data center buildout while balancing community impacts to strengthen economic competitiveness and technological leadership. The proposals center on streamlining permitting, expanding energy access, and attracting private investment to increase data center capacity, while simultaneously developing frameworks to mitigate local community impacts such as power grid strain, water consumption, and land use pressures.
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A lawsuit challenging the Army's use of AI in a contract award process is drawing attention to disclosure practices, with procurement attorney Alan Chvotkin calling for upfront transparency in solicitations about where and how AI tools are applied in proposal evaluations.
A new federal program would authorize vetted private companies to take active offensive roles against transnational cybercriminal groups, with oversight provided by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice.
The U.S. Air Force is developing AI-driven predictive maintenance tools to anticipate aircraft failures and improve sustainment, with Brig. Gen. William Ottati acknowledging progress but noting the service needs to expand its commitment to the technology.
The U.S. Air Force is seeking deployable manufacturing equipment capable of producing small drones in austere, remote environments, aiming to accelerate fielding of unmanned systems without relying on fixed industrial infrastructure.
Lt. Gen. Turner assumed command of Marine Corps forces in the Pacific from Lt. Gen. Glynn on Tuesday, with the two officers sharing a connection as classmates from The Basic School.
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