Too Close for Comfort

A Russian fighter jet and US aircraft unwittingly passed within a half mile of each other over Syria on Oct. 17, Col. John Dorrian, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, said Friday. The Russian jet passed in front...

Asking the Right Questions, Repeatedly

The Pentagon’s Third Offset effort “isn’t an answer, it’s a question,” Gen. Paul Selva, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday. “It questions our ability to be able to offset advantages we see emerging in potential competitors’...

Democracy’s Tactical Advantage

US forces will have the advantage if they face a mutual disabling of battle networks during a future conflict with a near-peer adversary, Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work said Friday at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event in...

Autonomy Should Be Fully Integrated, Carefully Limited

Top Defense Department leaders addressed the role of autonomous systems in US military strategy Friday, saying integrating autonomy with existing systems is critical but must be accomplished with strict attention to the risks involved. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work...

Demonstrate to Deter

The drone swarming technology the Pentagon is seeking as part of its Third Offset effort took a “large step forward just this week,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Friday. Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington,...

Carter to Create Chief Innovation Position

Defense Secretary Ash Carter is adopting three of the recommendations the Defense Innovation Board made to him earlier this month, he said Friday. Speaking at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event in Washington, D.C., Carter said he will...

The Biggest Bang for the Buck

In the world of defense innovation, “it’s really about the challenges, not the technology,” according to Pierre Chao, founding partner at Renaissance Strategic Advisors. Instead of beginning with a new technology and looking for military applications, Chao said, the Department...

Acquisitions Requires Deliberation

The Third Offset focuses on the development of leap-ahead technology that will ensure the United States’ advantage over its adversaries, but the Pentagon must also follow a “more deliberate process” in military acquisitions, said Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for...