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Quickly and Precisely Localizing Radioactive Material
Radioactive, chemical or biological substances are undetectable to humans in threatening situations and difficult to detect with remote sensing. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE use specially equipped drones and robots to quickly and precisely localize radioactive sources.
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We’ve Probably Just Seen the USAF’s Secret Electromagnetic Attacker
Another element in the US Air Force’s plans for long-range operations, essential for Asia-Pacific deterrence, may have emerged from under cover of secrecy: a shadowy uncrewed aircraft designed to fly far and slip into an enemy’s defended zone, undetected until it starts jamming radars. Quite likely, it would carry missiles to knock out radars. Put another way, the evidence adds up to an electromagnetic attack aircraft.
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Mexico and U.S. Look for New Deal in Long-Running Battle Over 80-year Old Water Treaty
Mexico and the US’s growing dispute over water rights further complicates an already strained relationship that must tackle existing challenges related to drug trafficking, security, migration and trade wars. Water is just the latest issue to rise to the top of the tension table.
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Allfare: China’s Whole-of-Nation Strategy
To analyze how states exert their influence, scholars often compartmentalize actions into rigid analytical frameworks, which obscures the holistic scope of the challenge.
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Strengthening National Security with Critical Materials Research
From satellites and surveillance systems to precision-guided munitions and fighter jet engines, critical materials are at the foundation of America’s military strength. Yet most critical materials are extracted and processed overseas, leaving the U.S. vulnerable to supply chain disruptions that could jeopardize everyday life, economic stability and national security.
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What Are Risk Sciences? A New Framework for Understanding Risk and Uncertainty
Uncertainty is a defining feature of the modern world—from climate change and pandemics to financial instability, cybersecurity threats, and disruptive technologies. Researchers offer a conceptual framework for “risk sciences” — an emerging interdisciplinary field dedicated to studying risk and uncertainty across diverse domains.
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The Trump Administration’s Cyber Strategy Fundamentally Misunderstands China’s Threat
The adoption of an offense-first strategy is a dangerous miscalculation. It will not diminish Beijing’s campaigns, and it coincides with a significant deterioration of cyber defenses that have kept U.S. networks and Americans safe.
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What If We Used AI to Strengthen Democracy?
AI is just the latest technology in a long line of innovations through history that have influenced politics. While many experts fear artificial intelligence will be deployed to weaken democracy, examples abound around the world of it being used to make systems fairer. Surveillance, control, propaganda aren’t the only options, says security technologist.
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Trump Administration Orders USDA Employees to Investigate Foreign Researchers They Work With
The new directive asks workers to check the backgrounds of foreign nationals collaborating with the department’s scientists for evidence of “subversive or criminal activity.” Their names are being sent to national security experts at the agency.
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Cutting Nuclear Power Plant Costs: Argonne Develops Framework for Smarter Maintenance
Merge a multiphysics simulation with real nuclear reactor inspection data and the result is a revolutionizing tool that predicts component failure before it happens. The study combines advanced simulations with real-world testing to predict how feedwater heater tubes, which preheat water before it enters a nuclear reactor, break down over time. The powerful new tool improves maintenance strategies and extend component lifespan.
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INL Advances Department of Defense’s Project Pele Demonstration Microreactor with First TRISO Fuel Delivery
The recent delivery of advanced nuclear fuel to the Idaho National Laboratory’s Transient Reactor Test Facility marks a major milestone for Project Pele, a first-of-its-kind mobile microreactor prototype designed to provide resilient power for military operations.
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Generative AI Speeds up Cybersecurity Defenses
Faster adversary emulation helps defenders stop cyberattacks: Scientists are using generative AI to accelerate a key step in the defense against cyberattacks, performing complex operations in minutes instead of weeks.
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In 2025, the US Suffered a Billion-Dollar Disaster Every 10 Days
A new analysis finds that in 2025 major catastrophes took 276 lives and caused $115 billion in damages. It could have been much worse.
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Three National Security Laboratories, One AI Model
A significant milestone has been not only accomplished but exceeded in the effort to advance artificial intelligence for national security: A federated-learning model prototype. Federated learning is a technique for training AI models on decentralized data.
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How Hollywood-Style “Break in” Rooms Are Securing the Future of Nuclear
Security is paramount for the nation’s current fleet of light water reactors, but the stakes for small modular reactors are especially high. Small modular reactors promise quicker build timelines and lower operating costs than light water reactors. They achieve these enhancements through better designs, higher levels of automation and smaller operating crews. But those same design choices could expand the opportunity for cyber and insider threats.
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The long view
Robots Just Captured a Russian Position in Ukraine—but Don’t Worry About Real-Life Terminators Just Yet
Military ground robotics are rapidly transforming battlefield tasks. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky recently announced that ground robots (also known as unmanned ground vehicles) had captured a Russian position. But for the immediate future at least, robots are more likely to support that fight, rather than lead it.
How Artificial Intelligence Could Reshape Four Essential Competitions in Future Warfare
How will advances in artificial intelligence (AI) shape the future of war? There is a growing belief among some policymakers and analysts that AI will transform the future of war, but researchers are still in the early stages of understanding how AI will actually change warfighting.
The Making of a Mythos: AI-Enabled Cybersecurity and the Emerging Architecture of Access
Anthropic’s release of the frontier AI model Claude Mythos Preview has caused significant trepidation, as its autonomous code-reasoning capabilities surfaced previously undetected vulnerabilities across major operating systems and software infrastructure. The architecture of access, being constructed around such capabilities, creates an asymmetry in access. India needs to secure critical infrastructure by updating, modernizing or replacing legacy systems.
Close Calls at Michigan’s Dams Are a Climate Warning to America
Record flooding pushed Michigan’s dams to the brink of disaster. The near miss reflects the national problem of infrastructure that is not suited to the challenges of a warming world.
The Missing Link in America’s Critical Minerals Push Isn’t Mining – It’s Processing Expertise
The United States is spending billions of dollars to secure access to critical minerals – minerals and metals that are essential to modern technology, from electric vehicles to smartphones and military systems. But amid the push to dig more, one question gets far too little attention: Who will actually process what comes out of the ground?