General Atomics’ SkyGuardian drone, a non-weaponized variant of the military’s MQ-9 Reaper, last week completed a test flight through civil airspace from Palmdale, California to Yuma, Arizona, the company announced. The April 3 flight demonstration, sponsored by NASA, marks a further step in the planned integration of drones into the National Airspace System. General Atomics said […]
The task of the military historian differs from that of the academic historian because military history has an operational dimension. It is supposed to help inform current military operations with the lessons and the perspectives of the past. “The historian must always bear in mind that the whole purpose of the history office is to […]
A coordinated effort to mass digitize the physical specimens in U.S. biodiversity collections.
Rethinking spectrum policy through a set of targeted reforms can maximize productive use of the radio spectrum.
A proposal for the federal government to help communities leverage smart-city technologies to help address social and economic challenges.
Updated below The Department of Defense is quietly asking Congress to rescind the requirement to produce an unclassified version of the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) database. Preparation of the unclassified FYDP, which provides estimates of defense spending for the next five years, has been required by law since 1989 (10 USC 221) and has […]
In principle, the COVID-19 outbreak could provide a compelling new justification for expediting the processing of certain Freedom of Information Act requests related to the pandemic. But it is more likely to slow down the handling of most requests as agency employees work remotely and other concerns are understandably prioritized. The impact of COVID-19 was […]
New resources from the Congressional Research Service add some depth to current news reporting on how the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting — and being addressed by — US policy. * COVID-19: Cybercrime Opportunities and Law Enforcement Response “Officials have reported criminals using public interest in COVID-19 to their advantage. For instance, the Department of Justice […]
Washington, DC, March 18, 2020 Today, the Federation of American Scientists, the Governance Lab at New York University Tandon School of Engineering, and the State of New Jersey Office of Innovation launched a free interactive tool to help answer the public’s questions on COVID-19 virus in English and Spanish. “Ask a Scientist,” located at covid19.fas.org […]
As the COVID-19 novel coronavirus emerged abroad and here at home, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) devised a diagnostic testing kit and the criteria for who should be tested. Both of CDC’s processes have come under severe scrutiny. The ramp up in US testing capacity for COVID-19 has been sluggish, in large […]
Last week, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee queried healthcare, disease prevention, and biodefense experts during a hearing about the COVID-19 novel coronavirus outbreak. The take-home message delivered by the witnesses was that the US needs to ramp up its preparedness in a hurry so that if COVID-19 outbreaks emerge on our shores, sick Americans […]
Earlier this month the Department of Defense acknowledged that it has recently begun to deploy low-yield nuclear warheads on certain submarine ballistic missiles. “This supplemental capability strengthens deterrence. . . and demonstrates to potential adversaries that there is no advantage to limited nuclear employment because the United States can credibly and decisively respond to any threat […]