Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Contributing Editor, Breaking Defense
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.Stories by Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON — A judge may have found unconstitutional the law that allows people to be held indefinitely without trial by the military, but the House of Representatives voted Friday to keep it anyway.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: Google will soon make public information about virtually every ship at sea, giving the current location and identity even of American warships. Meanwhile, the company is consulting with the Navy and others about security issues. UPDATED: (3:30 p.m.) Clarified Google Uses Satellite Technology, Not Building Satellites Google paid several million dollars for…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: In an era of shrinking budgets, the military’s future is less about buying new hardware than making better use of what it already has, the armed forces’ top officer said yesterday, and that kind of change requires focusing not on equipment but on people. “It’s the human dimension that will get us…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Pakistan reopens US supply lines to Afghanistan, drops demand for apology for friendly-fire deaths, gets more $$$: http://econ.st/LacJLL. SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: During a decade of relentless focus on counterinsurgency, the military has let other skills erode, skills it will have to struggle to get back even as budgets tighten. In particular, the capacity of the US and allied navies to hunt enemy submarines has suffered even as potential adversaries like China and Iran…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: To squeeze the most it can out of every training dollar in an era of shrinking budgets, the Army Reserve will rely more on simulators and long-distance learning to replace traditional drill weekends, outgoing Chief of Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Jack Stulz said today. Those efficiencies, in turn, will free up funds for ambitious…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: On a fine spring day in the nation’s capital, I’m not the only one to succumb to the temptation to work from home instead of heading into an airless office building. But cybersecurity experts warn that when I log into the AOL server to upload this article, I’m also opening a door for malware…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
CAPITOL HILL: The vice-chiefs of the Army and Marine Corps warned legislators today that sequestration would force the military and the nation to break enlistment contracts with up to 225,000 troops who would have to be precipitately discharged to save money. “We would absolutely not be able to keep faith with our people,” said Gen.…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
HASC votes to restrict Administration’s ability to negotiate international "space code of conduct" — explained here: http://bit.ly/JfscX1 SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON [updated at 3:10 pm with comment from Heritage Foundation’s Steven Groves] : The Defense Department made a big push to break three decades of stalemate on the Law of the Sea, with Secretary Leon Panetta and Chief of Joint Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey staging a rare joint appearance today to urge the Senate to…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Shipboard laser program launched @ONR (http://bit.ly/K02uoi) – for why the Navy needs lasers, see http://bit.ly/JKmni0 SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
PENTAGON: There are a lot of questions about the Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ships, high-tech vessels that are smaller, faster, more flexible, and more vulnerable to damage than traditional frigates or destroyers. In an exclusive interview with Breaking Defense, the Navy’s top surface-warships expert frankly acknowledged that they’re still working on the answers. Everything…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Panetta & Dempsey to push "Law of the Sea" ratification tomorrow @ACUS (http://bit.ly/K8Nl7O) — pros & cons of LOS @ http://bit.ly/IHWF2v SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: Congress orders up innumerable reports, and the Pentagon routinely delivers them months late, but the Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan is one report that actually matters. That’s why Rep. Todd Akin, seapower chairman on the House Armed Services Committee, will offer an amendment to the defense authorization bill at Wednesday’s mark-up session that will demand…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON — A judge may have found unconstitutional the law that allows people to be held indefinitely without trial by the military, but the House of Representatives voted Friday to keep it anyway.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: Google will soon make public information about virtually every ship at sea, giving the current location and identity even of American warships. Meanwhile, the company is consulting with the Navy and others about security issues. UPDATED: (3:30 p.m.) Clarified Google Uses Satellite Technology, Not Building Satellites Google paid several million dollars for…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: In an era of shrinking budgets, the military’s future is less about buying new hardware than making better use of what it already has, the armed forces’ top officer said yesterday, and that kind of change requires focusing not on equipment but on people. “It’s the human dimension that will get us…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Pakistan reopens US supply lines to Afghanistan, drops demand for apology for friendly-fire deaths, gets more $$$: http://econ.st/LacJLL. SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: During a decade of relentless focus on counterinsurgency, the military has let other skills erode, skills it will have to struggle to get back even as budgets tighten. In particular, the capacity of the US and allied navies to hunt enemy submarines has suffered even as potential adversaries like China and Iran…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON: To squeeze the most it can out of every training dollar in an era of shrinking budgets, the Army Reserve will rely more on simulators and long-distance learning to replace traditional drill weekends, outgoing Chief of Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Jack Stulz said today. Those efficiencies, in turn, will free up funds for ambitious…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON: On a fine spring day in the nation’s capital, I’m not the only one to succumb to the temptation to work from home instead of heading into an airless office building. But cybersecurity experts warn that when I log into the AOL server to upload this article, I’m also opening a door for malware…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.CAPITOL HILL: The vice-chiefs of the Army and Marine Corps warned legislators today that sequestration would force the military and the nation to break enlistment contracts with up to 225,000 troops who would have to be precipitately discharged to save money. “We would absolutely not be able to keep faith with our people,” said Gen.…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.HASC votes to restrict Administration’s ability to negotiate international "space code of conduct" — explained here: http://bit.ly/JfscX1 SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON [updated at 3:10 pm with comment from Heritage Foundation’s Steven Groves] : The Defense Department made a big push to break three decades of stalemate on the Law of the Sea, with Secretary Leon Panetta and Chief of Joint Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey staging a rare joint appearance today to urge the Senate to…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Shipboard laser program launched @ONR (http://bit.ly/K02uoi) – for why the Navy needs lasers, see http://bit.ly/JKmni0 SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.PENTAGON: There are a lot of questions about the Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ships, high-tech vessels that are smaller, faster, more flexible, and more vulnerable to damage than traditional frigates or destroyers. In an exclusive interview with Breaking Defense, the Navy’s top surface-warships expert frankly acknowledged that they’re still working on the answers. Everything…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Panetta & Dempsey to push "Law of the Sea" ratification tomorrow @ACUS (http://bit.ly/K8Nl7O) — pros & cons of LOS @ http://bit.ly/IHWF2v SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON: Congress orders up innumerable reports, and the Pentagon routinely delivers them months late, but the Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan is one report that actually matters. That’s why Rep. Todd Akin, seapower chairman on the House Armed Services Committee, will offer an amendment to the defense authorization bill at Wednesday’s mark-up session that will demand…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
