When the U.S. arm of Italian defense giant Leonardo bought a small tech startup called Daylight Solutions in 2017, almost nobody noticed. Two years later though, the logic of the acquisition is becoming increasingly clear. DRS Daylight Solutions, as it is now called, has developed a microscope using a “quantum cascade laser” that reduces the time needed to conduct cancer biopsies from days or weeks to minutes. The results are 95-99% accurate, and easily interpreted by clinicians. That’s a breakthrough, [ Read More…]

U.S. intelligence agencies are accelerating the movement of data resources to the cloud, leveraging technologies provided by Amazon Web Services under a 2013 agreement. Intelligence Community insiders say that progress to date has been transformational, enabling big gains in the exploitation of diverse information while reducing costs and bolstering cybersecurity. Lexington Institute senior fellow Kris Osborn has written an analysis describing the shift for Fox News that you can read here.

The U.S. Army today is headed by an unusually thoughtful and experienced group of senior leaders. But they will need all of their skills to keep the Army’s campaign plan to win the future on track through the very difficult budgetary environment that likely lies ahead. Fortunately, the plan they have laid out is clear and convincing. It recognizes how the character of war is changing, leverages new technologies to achieve big gains in combat effectiveness, embraces the centrality of [ Read More…]

Joins with US and 30 Countries to Overhaul Universal Postal Union An Interview with Pierre Morin of Canada Post Canada, like the United States, has major problems with the international postal system run by the Universal Postal Union. In Canada, as in the United States, it costs a fraction of what it does to obtain small packages (4.4 pounds or less) from countries like China compared with the costs of sending the same size package within country. This hurts Canadian [ Read More…]

It has been decades since the U.S. Army fielded a genuinely new combat rotorcraft. During that time, aerospace technology has advanced by leaps and bounds while threats have changed dramatically. The Army needs to get moving on fielding new airframes, and the place it should start is with a replacement for the Black Hawk air assault aircraft. Black Hawks are rugged and versatile, but they were first fielded four decades ago; today, soldiers need more range and speed to cope [ Read More…]

Sometimes, no news really is good news. This is the case with the Pentagon’s plan for its Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud program. Proposals from many of the big cloud providers – Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle and IBM – were delivered to the Department of Defense in early October 2018 with an award decision expected around April of this year. Despite efforts on several fronts to short-circuit the contracting process using protests, lawsuits and derogatory dossiers, the Pentagon has remained [ Read More…]

Having successfully completed the most extensive flight tests in history, the F-35 fighter is well on its way to setting the global standard for tactical air power. Nearly 500 of the planes in three different variants will be delivered by year’s end. But rather than commending program managers and contractors for an extraordinary accomplishment, critics have seamlessly transitioned to questioning how much it costs to operate the fighter. The new complaint is based less on real information that on the [ Read More…]

The U.S. Army is strengthening its forces in Europe in response to a growing military threat from Russia. A key feature of that effort is deployment of a more lethal version of the Stryker armored troop carrier. Stryker provides troops with mobility and protection; now it will also deliver enhanced firepower. Lexington Institute senior fellow Kris Osborn has written a commentary about the Army’s Stryker initiative for Fox News that you can read here.

U.S. amphibious warfare forces are this Nation’s first line of defense. They are a unique strategic and operational capability. The demand for amphibious warfare forces by Combatant Commanders routinely exceeds their availability. At present, the U.S. has 32 amphibious warfare ships of all classes. It needs, at a minimum, 38. To achieve this goal rapidly and efficiently, the Navy should move to acquire amphibious warfare ships the way it does aircraft carriers, submarines and other surface ships, by contracting for [ Read More…]

There have been several recent strong warnings about the dangers of cyberattacks on the electric grid along with positive defensive developments. Continued vigilance is imperative. Lexington Institute’s Paul Steidler has written a commentary for InsideSources about this topic here.