Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. has written for Breaking Defense since 2011 and served as deputy editor for the site's first decade, covering technology, strategy, and policy with a particular focus on the US Army. He’s now a contributing editor focused on cyber, robotics, AI, and other critical technologies and policies that will shape the future of warfare. Sydney began covering defense at National Journal magazine in 1997 and holds degrees from Harvard, Cambridge, and Georgetown.
WASHINGTON: The Commandant of the Coast Guard is “very confident” US shipyards can build the country’s first icebreaker in 20 years for less than the standard eye-watering $1 billion estimate. Adm. Paul Zukunft dismissed the idea of cutting costs by buying abroad, a toxic concept for Congress. And he publicly pondered a National Academy of Sciences proposal to […]
WASHINGTON: The Navy wants the Army’s help win a future Multi-Domain Battle with China, a senior defense official told me last week, but to get it, the two services have to connect through a simple, robust network using small and rapidly-launched satellites. We don’t need massive bandwidth to handle video teleconferences, full motion video from drones, […]
"Being able to tell the commander you don't need to do something is actually a pretty powerful message, as well."
ARLINGTON: The Army’s no-holds-barred study of its network shortfalls should produce a comprehensive strategy to solve them — a strategy that can withstand the scrutiny of a skeptical Congress. That’s the goal Acting Army Secretary Robert Speer laid out for me and a fellow reporter after an Association of the US Army event this week. […]
NATIONAL PRESS CLUB: The tank is far from obsolete and the US will need a new armored vehicle to replace its 1980-vintage M1 Abrams, the Army Chief of Staff said here this afternoon. But what kind of tank, on what kind of timeline? Gen. Mark Milley made clear he was looking for a “breakthrough,” not […]
It’s a big day for the 2,500-pound Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, LRASM. This morning, contractor Lockheed Martin announced an $86.5 million contract to build the first 23 production missiles – as opposed to test weapons – for use by Navy Super Hornet fighters and Air Force B-1B bombers. Lockheed also announce this afternoon that it had, […]
CAPITOL HILL: If the Air Force wants to build a single global network linking forces in the air, sea, land, space, and cyberspace, it must first eliminate the proprietary standards that keep its existing systems from sharing data. That’s the key conclusion the service’s Multi-Domain Command & Control taskforce recently reported to the Chief of […]
Supply chains are only as strong as their weakest link, which has been repeatedly proven to be true over the last few years.
WASHINGTON: The concept called Multi-Domain Battle – a single seamless offensive across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace – may seem futuristic, but the Army wants to start implementing at least parts of it right now. In wargames, doctrine, and interservice dialogue, “it’s actually becoming reality,” said Gen. David Perkins. As one of the fathers […]
ARLINGTON: As the Army hardens its networks against Russian-style jamming and hacking, it can’t afford the time or money for another high-tech, high-cost, multi-year mega-program like the failed Future Combat Systems. Instead, the service mostly has to make the best of what it has. That requires an array of unglamorous improvements to its crucial networks: […]
ARLINGTON: Want to sell information technology to the US Army? Then you need to write this down: [email protected]. That’s the email of the general seeking industry’s input — historically something of a struggle for the service — as the Army reviews and overhauls its networks. The Army’s long-term goal: a single unified network connecting everything from the […]
WASHINGTON: Third time’s (hopefully) the charm for the Trump Administration when it comes to candidates for Army Secretary. After the withdrawals of Vincent Viola, a billionaire with no government experience, and Mark Green, a Tennessee politician with a controversial track record, Trump has picked an experienced Washington insider, Mark Esper. Esper probably is unlikely to […]
AI tools are critical components of modern warfare, but must be protected to ensure they are reliable.
Run silent, run deep — and now, run in packs? Submarines are traditionally lone wolves, but the rise of robotics is starting to change that. Just yesterday, defense contractor BAE announced a $4.6 million award from DARPA to build an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) to accompany manned submarines, helping them spot targets by sending out […]
ARLINGTON: The Army is dialing up its lasers, from 5 to 10 kilowatt weapons that torched quadcopters in successful tests to 50 to 100 kW weapons that could kill helicopters and low-flying airplanes — and, possibly, blind cruise missiles as well. Given rising anxiety over Russia’s Hind gunships, Frogfoot fighters, and Kalibr missiles, the technology […]
WASHINGTON: The US Army has blown billions on weapons that never got built, so Congress is understandably wary of funding Army modernization. A senior Hill aide told us today that if the service wants money to modernize, it must convince Congress that its requests are in response to a specific threat the legislators care about, namely […]
NEWSEUM: The troops of tomorrow may be able to pull the trigger using only their minds. As artificially intelligent drones, hacking, jamming, and missiles accelerate the pace of combat, some of the military’s leading scientists are studying how mere humans can keep up with the incredible speed of cyber warfare, missiles and other threats. One […]