A Texas Air National Guard F-16 went down in Michigan on Thursday afternoon during a training exercise, forcing an evacuation of homes and businesses within a mile of the crash site over a chemical spill. The pilot ejected safely and was taken to a hospital, while all Texas Air National Guard aircraft at the site were grounded pending investigation. One pilot reportedly told air traffic control his wingman may have struck a bird before the crash.
news.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-19
The Defense Department announced a targeted legal waiver on September 14 allowing current and former service members, civilian staff and contractors to share classified UAP-related information with the White House-directed PURSUE program without facing civil or administrative penalties for breaching nondisclosure agreements. The waiver only applies to communications with PURSUE, not to Congress, the press or the public, and it does not address potential criminal liability under laws like the Espionage Act.
wired.com
· 2026-09-17
US Space Force chief Gen. Douglas Schiess stated publicly that Guardians currently operate weapons in orbit capable of defending against space-based attacks, though he gave no specifics on the systems involved. He illustrated the claim with an anecdote about an operator called 'Specialist Gray' who allegedly used electromagnetic warfare against an adversary during a missile alert.
futurism.com
· 2026-09-16
Emil Michael, the Department of Defense's chief technology officer, said Wednesday he hopes the Trump administration will not pursue nationalization or partial ownership stakes in artificial intelligence companies. He made the remarks on CNBC's 'Squawk on the Street,' contrasting AI policy with the administration's recent equity moves in firms like Intel and U.S. Steel. Michael also voiced skepticism toward tightening regulatory oversight of AI companies.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-16
San Francisco startup Foundation, backed by Eric Trump, has signed a $24 million contract with the Pentagon to advance its Phantom MK1 humanoid robot for military use. CEO Sankaet Pathak says the machines aren't yet capable of combat but envisions a future where they could enter buildings to complete missions instead of airstrikes, and hasn't ruled out arming them. The company has already deployed about ten robots, including with the Air Force and in logistics support roles in Ukraine.
futurism.com
· 2026-09-15
A report from The American Prospect alleges Anthropic security officials monitor AI activists near company facilities, share threat reports with police, and track behavioral 'escalation patterns.' The claims cite a company job posting for an 'enterprise intelligence specialist' tasked with tracking threats including activism. Anthropic pushed back, telling CNET the report mischaracterizes a standard physical-security function meant to protect employees, not a surveillance program targeting activists.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-11
The U.S. Department of Defense is reportedly negotiating a $5 billion loan to Fluidstack, a company that builds AI computing infrastructure. The deal is being advised by a bank founded by Palmer Luckey, a prominent early backer of Donald Trump.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-10
The US military has turned off advertising identifiers on Windows, Android and Apple devices used by service members, aiming to stop adversaries from purchasing commercially available location data to track troops. The disclosure came in letters to Senator Ron Wyden, revealing that Windows machines had trackers disabled since before 2021, while mobile devices only got default protection starting in early 2026. The move follows earlier reporting that such tracking data had already been used to target American forces in the Middle East.
yro.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-07
The Pentagon issued a clinical guidance document on September 2 implementing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's mandatory testosterone screening policy, then removed it the following day along with a related statement from spokesperson Sean Parnell. Officials told Ars Technica the document was temporarily rescinded to allow for updates, with an interim policy remaining active and a finalized version expected soon. The rescinded plan would have screened men 30 and older via questionnaire, potentially triggering blood tests and hormone therapy, while women faced similar screening for hormonal imbalances.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-04
Alan Waldenberg, longtime outside counsel to Cerberus Capital Management and personal trust manager for Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, also served as the Pentagon's lawyer on its $400 million equity stake and $150 million loan to rare earth miner MP Materials. Feinberg, Cerberus's founder, now holds vast sway over Pentagon budgets and contracts, and reportedly picked Waldenberg himself to work on the deal. The arrangement surfaced amid a broader Pentagon push, now exceeding $2 billion, to invest directly in critical minerals and battery firms to counter China.
prospect.org
· 2026-09-04
The U.S. Army has signed a $465 million contract to field 26 laser weapons designed to shoot down drones. The deal marks a shift from decades of research and prototypes toward actual battlefield deployment of directed-energy weapons.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-04
A federal judge has ruled that the Department of Defense acted unlawfully when it blacklisted AI company Anthropic from government contracting opportunities. The ruling finds the Pentagon's action lacked proper legal justification, reversing the restriction placed on the firm.
yro.slashdot.org
· 2026-08-28
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