Defense

  • The Air Force can't afford the programs it thinks it will need over the next decade. The service's top officer says it's time to reexamine priorities, with a realistic view of the funding it will get from Congress.

    September 17, 2014
  • On this week's edition of On DoD, we get a preview of the forthcoming Army Training Information System (ATIS).

    September 15, 2014
  • Airmen of the Year represent the best of the Air Force. Maj. Johan Lee is a space operator and flight commander for the Air Force Reserve who watches for problems that could develop anywhere on earth. He's being recognized along with his employer Booz Allen. Lee joined Federal Drive host Tom Temin at this year's Air Force Association conference and expo at National Harbor.

    September 14, 2014
  • If you like things that fly fast and zoom through space, the annual Air Force Association conference and exposition is the place to be. It's also the place to catch the technology and policy trends for the Air Force. Retired Gen. Craig McKinley is president of the Air Force Association. He joined Federal Drive host Tom Temin talk about this year's conference.

    September 14, 2014
  • Behind many of today's soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines are spouses and children. That's also the case for the Air National Guard. The Air Force provides its guardsmen with a variety of programs to ensure the quality of family life. Maj. Kelly Barton, Chief of Airman and Family Services for the Air National Guard , joined Federal Drive host Tom Temin at the Air Force Association conference to discuss the program.

    September 14, 2014
  • If the last 13 years of foreign wars have shown anything, it's the importance of reserve forces. Brig. Gen. John Flournoy is commander of the 4th Air Force within the Air Force Reserve Command. He's based out of March Air Reserve Base, California. He joined Federal Drive host Tom Temin at the Air Force Association conference and expo at National Harbor.

    September 14, 2014
  • The Obama Administration wants to avoid a repeat of the technical glitches it experienced with the rollout of HealthCare.gov. One way is through a White House effort called the U.S. Digital Service. The Digital Service will consist of a small team of experts that will serve as consultants to agencies on IT projects. Ariel Rabkin is a visiting fellow with AEI's Center for Internet, Communications and Technology Policy. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to explain why many IT projects fail in the first place.

    September 14, 2014
  • The Army's new dedicated career branch for cyber specialties could be up and running as soon as October.

    September 12, 2014
  • The Army has a request for information out to see how it can introduce 4G LTE mobile technology to soldiers on the battlefield. The Army wants to see how 4G can help with battlefield intelligence and communication, and keep those capabilities on a wireless network. It hopes the technology can be tailored to help individual soldiers interact and contribute to the battlefield network. The Army wants the network to support video, voice and text communications. Responses to the ROI are due on October 6th.

    September 11, 2014
  • Gino Magnifico, the chief information officer of the Army Contracting Command, said the move to a zero-client setup for its desktop computers and the development of lighter weight apps to be used anywhere in the world is a direct result of having a mature cloud infrastructure.

    September 11, 2014
  • After years of acquisition planning, bid protests and then eventually a rolling process of migrating users from one contract to another, the Navy says all of its users will have moved to its new NGEN contract by the end of this month.

    September 11, 2014
  • Within the next few weeks, the Navy said it will finally finish its transition to a new operating structure for its IT network. As Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu reports, all of the Navy's 300,000 users will be operating under a contract structure known as NGEN by the end of this month.

    September 11, 2014
  • The 3-D printing revolution now includes an effort to replicate the human skull. The Army Research Laboratory is working on skulls that can be used for research on brain injuries. Dr. Thomas Plaisted is a materials engineer at the Composites and Hybrid Materials Branch of the Weapons and Materials Directorate at the Army Research Lab. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said the skulls won't solve the head injury problem, but they'll be an effective tool to help find a solution.

    September 09, 2014
  • The Navy has made an important step in advancing its aerial strike and surveillance technology. It's found a way to blend unmanned and manned jets on the same aircraft carrier. Aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt off of the Virginia coast, the Navy successfully completed a test. A self-guided plane took off, landed and then maneuvered out of the way for a manned jet to land. Rear Adm. Mat Winter is the program executive for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons at Naval Air Systems Command. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to explain why the test runs are important to the Navy.

    September 08, 2014

On DoD

On DoD

WEDNESDAYS, 11 A.M. & 2 P.M.

Each week, Defense Reporter Jared Serbu speaks with the managers of the federal government's largest department. Subscribe on PodcastOne or Apple Podcasts.