Battlefield Tech
What we know about the US military’s new joint laser weapon system
The Army-Navy effort aims to produce a containerized 150-kilowatt high-energy laser weapon to counter incoming cruise missiles.
By Jared Keller
Battlefield Tech
Why aircraft carriers are the best (and worst) place for laser weapons
High-energy laser weapons are a natural fit for large, power-rich aircraft carriers — with limits.
By Jared Keller
The US military wants a fleet of missile-killing laser drones
The U.S. military is once again pursuing flying directed energy weapons to counter threats to American airspace.
By Jared Keller
Australia awards contracts for counter-drone tech based on lasers, interceptors
Both products will eventually integrate into a command-and-control system developed under the Army’s umbrella Land 156 counter-unmanned aerial system push.
Opinion
Inside China, artificial intelligence is a snake eating its own tail
AI researchers refer to this as “model collapse,” a phenomenon in which models trained on their own synthetic outputs degrade over successive generations.
By Joe Buccino
SPECIAL FEATURES
2026 Tech Disruptors
The Defense News 2026 Tech Disruptors is an annual list of top tech leaders shaping defense technology.
Autonomous Data Fusion on the Modern Battlefield
A look at how data fusion is critical to maintaining information dominance, how the new prime contractors can offer agility, speed, innovation, and more.
DOD’s Cyber Workforce Challenges
This whitepaper explores how the DoD can close the cyber workforce skills gap, how ‘upskilling’ protects national security in the digital age, and more.
Whitepaper: How Modular Systems Help Ensure Defense Readiness
Learn how a Modular Open Systems Approach avoids proprietary lock-in, how ease of sourcing replacement parts helps ensure readiness, and more.
Space
Starlink outage hit drone tests, exposing Pentagon’s growing reliance on SpaceX
Last August, a global outage across Elon Musk’s satellite network left U.S. Navy unmanned surface vessels bobbing off California, halting operations.
Artificial Intelligence
Opinion
Inside China, artificial intelligence is a snake eating its own tail
AI researchers refer to this as “model collapse,” a phenomenon in which models trained on their own synthetic outputs degrade over successive generations.
Unmanned
Australia awards contracts for counter-drone tech based on lasers, interceptors
Both products will eventually integrate into a command-and-control system developed under the Army’s umbrella Land 156 counter-unmanned aerial system push.
Air Force unit executes test of Anduril’s semiautonomous combat drone
Airmen operated Auduril's YFQ-44A jet-powered combat drone, which could someday fly alongside piloted fighters.
EU pumps over $1 billion into defense R&D, centered around Ukraine war lessons
The choice of funded projects marks a shift to 21st-century warfare, with loitering munitions and affordable mass drone production high on the agenda.
Unmanned
Estonia raids combat-vehicle funds to buy more drones, air defenses
The defense minister said the decision was based on lessons learned from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
US military eyes high-energy ‘laser dome’ for domestic air defense
The U.S. military's pursuit of high-energy laser weapons for American air defense comes amid the expanding threat of low-cost weaponized drones.
Ukrainian drone makers visit Paris looking for co-production deals
“We come with our lessons learned,” Kamyshin said. “We offer a model which is definitely beneficial for your country, for your industry, for your economy."
Cyber
French Navy dials up stress level in crew drills after Red Sea experience
The idea is to make people "feel like their final hour has come," said the officer in charge of training naval surface personnel.
Electronic Warfare
Pentagon’s realistic electronic warfare system to move to Navy lab
DARPA says it has built the world’s largest, most realistic electronic warfare test capability.
VIDEOS
The Navy absorbs lessons from Epic Fury | Defense News Weekly Full Episode 4.28.26
At the Navy League of the United States’ recent conference, Navy leaders digest lessons from the U.S. campaign in the Middle East and look to the future.
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Air Force unit executes test of Anduril’s semiautonomous combat drone
Airmen operated Auduril's YFQ-44A jet-powered combat drone, which could someday fly alongside piloted fighters.
Dutch broadcaster tracks carrier-group frigate with Bluetooth gadget
The MoD has made adjustments in response to the reported incident, including no longer allowing greeting cards with batteries to be sent.
Starlink outage hit drone tests, exposing Pentagon’s growing reliance on SpaceX
Last August, a global outage across Elon Musk’s satellite network left U.S. Navy unmanned surface vessels bobbing off California, halting operations.
By David Jeans, Reuters
EU pumps over $1 billion into defense R&D, centered around Ukraine war lessons
The choice of funded projects marks a shift to 21st-century warfare, with loitering munitions and affordable mass drone production high on the agenda.
By Linus Höller
France readies AI-powered combat data-management similar to US ‘Maven’
The system could be available within a few months, and available for exercises in September 2027, a top general said, declining to provide specifics.
US Air Force debuts operational AI wargame system
WarMatrix is an AI-powered system meant to keep human judgement central to wargaming and was marked operational during an event in late March.
Estonia raids combat-vehicle funds to buy more drones, air defenses
The defense minister said the decision was based on lessons learned from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
US military eyes high-energy ‘laser dome’ for domestic air defense
The U.S. military's pursuit of high-energy laser weapons for American air defense comes amid the expanding threat of low-cost weaponized drones.
By Jared Keller
Army debuts data operations center to serve as information hub
The Army Data Operations Center’s debut is part of an enormous push to further integrate data and machine learning into military operations.
By Ellen Ioanes
Pentagon, Lockheed Martin agree to $4.7 billion PAC-3 interceptor deal
Lockheed in January discussed a target of increasing annual PAC-3 interceptor production from approximately 600 to 2,000 over a span of seven years.
By J.D. Simkins
Ukrainian drone makers visit Paris looking for co-production deals
“We come with our lessons learned,” Kamyshin said. “We offer a model which is definitely beneficial for your country, for your industry, for your economy."
Pentagon’s ouster of Anthropic opens doors for small AI rivals
Small defense industry artificial intelligence startups are suddenly fielding calls from generals, combatant commanders and deep-pocketed investors.
By Mike Stone, Reuters
Outpaced by the US, China’s military places selective bets on artificial intelligence
China may have surpassed the United States in AI for drone swarms, one Taiwan-based analyst said.
By Military Times staff
Israel to sell PULS systems to Greece for $750 million
The deal between the two countries includes dozens of launchers and rockets.
Ukraine claims near-90% air-defense success in March as attacks increase
“The frequency of attacks is increasing but air defense performance is improving,” the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said.
The US Navy brought a ‘one-of-a-kind’ laser weapon back from the dead
The U.S. Navy's lone 150 kW laser weapon is back in action – sort of.
By Jared Keller