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.
2023’s Global Information Dominance Experiments were a race to field a “minimum viable” version of CJADC2. The 2024 GIDEs will open up to more input from the services, the Five Eyes allies, and a wide range of contractors.
With official outlets like RT and Sputnik kicked out of many Western countries, Moscow now emphasizes social media — exploiting TikTok, X, and the explosion in generative AI, according to a new report.
“The Minimum Viable Capability for CJADC2 [Combined Joint All Domain Command & Control] is real and ready now,” said Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks. “It’s low latency and extremely reliable.” But budget gridlock blocks deployment.
The US military can quickly kludge together custom solutions for urgent problems, said Pentagon AI chief Craig Martell. But it needs a more systematic approach to turn those quick hacks into stable, enduring AIs that can actually talk to each other.
Last fall, both Russia and Ukraine boasted of fielding drones that tracked targets using AI algorithms. Now new expert analysis suggests that neither side got it to work well enough for war — but the US and China might.
With Chinese wargames growing ever larger and more realistic, Adm. Sam Paparo said traditional intelligence “indications and warning” can’t tell if they’re just practicing or actually about to invade Taiwan. His solution: surveillance drones feeding AI analysis.
It’s tempting to use AI to micromanage military operations from an all-seeing HQ. But experts warn the chaos of war means AI is best used to empower decentralized initiative — an area where the democratic West just might have the edge.
The US and China are racing to develop quantum technologies. But each superpower is emphasizing different applications of the same fundamental science, and some American experts think a couple of Beijing’s top priorities may be dead ends.
Tech giants and venture capitalists are pouring billions into developing quantum computers. But related tech of special interest to the military — quantum sensing, navigation and communications — needs stepped-up federal funding, the Air Force Association says.
AI analysis of sensor data, including new kinds of quantum-based detection, could give a lethal edge in undersea warfare — to either the Australia-UK-US alliance or to China.
A report from NDIA highlights directed-energy suppliers’ struggles to get by on unpredictable “one-off” contracts for prototypes and field tests — but OSD research and acquisition officials warn there are complex tactical questions to work out before they can buy lasers in bulk.
A new report from Britain’s RUSI and America’s SCSP argues only tough, politically savvy leadership can force the armed services to scrap enough existing systems to free up funds for an AI-driven revolution in warfare.
Ordinary soldiers and civil servants have used the Army Data Platform to build thousands of data analytics. Now the service wants to scale up ADP’s success — but that will take a new way of doing business, said chief data officer David Markowitz.
The National Institute of Standards & Technology is about to release its long-awaited “post-quantum encryption” algorithms. Then comes the hard part: installing them everywhere.
With programs like MTC, Millennium Space Systems is redefining what it means to be an operational prime – rapidly delivering operational small sat constellations on rapid timelines.
With programs like MTC, Millennium Space Systems is redefining what it means to be an operational prime – rapidly delivering operational small sat constellations on rapid timelines.
