This two-part story by John Villasenor looks at how continued advances in unmanned aerial vehicle technology have profound implications on modern warfare.

The Economist's Newsbook blog examines the evolving role of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in American counterterrorism strategy.

Max Boot says the death of Anwar al-Awlaki is a fleeting victory without stability in Yemen.

John B. Bellinger III examines the legality of drone strikes used by the United States against al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders.

John Pomfret discusses the test flight of a Chinese military fighter jet--and what it reveals about the Chinese military's view of China's relationship with the United States.

Jerome A. Cohen says the impact of Liu Xiaobo's peace prize will be felt among China's leaders, scholars, and perhaps its people.

Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn discusses the various new strategies used by the Pentagon to identify information technology threats, combat cyber warfare, and protect U.S. infrastructure.

Reports of Predator drones' data losses in Iraq and Afghanistan should serve as a call to action to upgrade U.S. cybersecurity capabilities, says analyst James Lewis.

Listen as Ashton B. Carter, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, outlines the Obama administration’s assessment of defense resources and priorities, and DOD’s shifting relationships with Capitol Hill and the business community.

The United States has been developing missile defense technologies since the beginning of the Cold War, first with nuclear-tipped interceptors and later with conventional "hit-to-kill" missiles, weapons intended to destroy enemy warheads in flight.

Report

The threat of nuclear armageddon is overblown.

Newsweek International Assistant Managing Editor Fred Guterl reports on four battle cruisers in the Sea of Japan--two American, two Japanese--that carry missiles capable of reaching North Korean nuclear-tipped rockets on their way to Japan. The U.S. Navy has seventy-three Aegis ships. As the Obama administration shows signs of backing away from plans to put missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic, this fleet of "Aegis" cruisers, as they're called, may be called upon to take up the slack.

Graham Allison, author and director of the Belfer Center at Harvard University, writes that the only thing that can keep nuclear bombs out of the hands of terrorists is a brand-new science of nuclear forensics. Developing this science, he says, entails working backward from a terrorist event to trace the path of the material to its source.

Dinshaw Mistry and Charles D. Ferguson urge Europe and the United States not to rush decisions on deploying a missile defense system in Europe.

A combination of intellectual rigor, technical sophistication, hard work, and intelligence gathering brought China into the world's nuclear club in record-shattering time.

With the help of U.S. defense contractors, China is building the prototype for a high-tech police state. It is ready for export.

The U.S.Air Force is standing up a dedicated command to coordinate offensive and defensive cyber strategy within the Pentagon. 

Wired's Joshua Davis reports on a rogue computer network that crashed Estonia's Internet, launching what he calls Web War I.