Defense spending stagnates as election dominates US politics: 2024 in review
The Fiscal Responsibility Act, continuing resolutions and the presidential election kept big changes for defense spending in limbo this year.
DoD keeps pushing for the next-gen of IT and cyber systems: 2024 in review
From both a top level approach and a service-level approach, this year the DoD released new IT strategies focused on supporting the evolving nature of warfare.
How the Pentagon domesticated the chatbot: 2024 in review
This December, after 16 months of studies and experiments, the Department of Defense decided it had figured out enough guardrails for generative AI to start embracing the new technology wholesale.
Army halted weapon development and pushed tech to soldiers faster: 2024 in review
The Army spent 2024 pushing its new “transformation in contact” initiative while also pivoting away from several key weapon development initiatives.
Space Force gets loud and proud about warfighting role: 2024 in review
"You are warfighters, whether you carry a gun or not," Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman told Guardians on Dec. 10. "You are trained and expected to carry out offensive and defensive actions against military forces of other countries."
A year of next-gen fighter doubts for the Air Force: 2024 in review
This was supposed to be the year that the Air Force selected a winning vendor to build its next-gen fighter. Then reality set in.
Tensions between Navy and industry in the spotlight: 2024 in review
Industry and the Pentagon always have their disagreements. But those usually stay behind closed doors.
Everything comes down to Ukraine: 5 stories from Europe in 2024
Of all that happened during the Ukraine conflict in the last 12 months, the deployment of North Korean troops to the Russian border territory of Kursk stands out from the pack.
The terror of war, a helo crash mystery and the business of defense: 5 Middle East stories from 2024
From eye-witness accounts of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon to a rare appearance of Iranian weapons at a foreign arms expo, there's a selection of Breaking Defense's Middle East coverage.
From Japan’s build-up to stumbles in the Lucky Country: 5 Pacific stories for 2024
Key reports covered Japan's defense expansion, China's internal troubles and Australia's uneven pursuit of more naval power.
Killer Apps: 5 stories highlight quiet progress on military AI and CJADC2
While combat has seen a drone revolution, the US has made subtle but real advances in applying AI to military planning, intelligence, and “all domain” command and control.
From a ‘lightbulb’ moment to a ‘sense of urgency’: 5 cyber and network stories from 2024
This year Breaking Defense spoke with top cyber and network experts and officials reflecting on the ways the Pentagon is striving to make the IT space more robust.
From Boeing’s struggles to inflation relief funds: 5 industry stories from 2024
Making a year-end list in which she forces references to Taylor Swift songs for no reason has basically become reporter Valerie Insinna's favorite Christmas tradition.
Peeking behind the veil: 5 revelatory space stories from 2024
This year saw evidence that a shift toward more openness about US national security space activities is coming whether those deep in the "black world" are ready or not.