Author Archive
Patrick Tucker
Science & Technology Editor, Defense One

Patrick Tucker is science and technology editor for Defense One. He’s also the author of The Naked Future: What Happens in a World That Anticipates Your Every Move? (Current, 2014). Previously, Tucker was deputy editor for The Futurist for nine years. Tucker has written about emerging technology in Slate, The Sun, MIT Technology Review, Wilson Quarterly, The American Legion Magazine, BBC News Magazine, Utne Reader, and elsewhere.
Defense
Space Force will look at how to hack targets from space
“We're laying the groundwork for starting to figure that,” said the leader of Space Operations Command.
- By Patrick Tucker
Defense
U.S. military now has voice-controlled bug drones
And next year, they might talk back.
- By Patrick Tucker
Defense
Soldiers can now steer robot dogs with brain signals
A small sensor tucked neatly behind the ear allowed soldiers to mentally guide robotic quadrupeds.
- By Patrick Tucker
Defense
How the Pentagon mobilized to support tech startups after bank failure
The failure of Silicon Valley Bank presents the Defense Department with warnings—and opportunities.
- By Patrick Tucker and Marcus Weisgerber
Defense
Pentagon looking to make sure SpaceX doesn’t abandon them in war
Spooked by the company’s new limits in Ukraine, military leaders are mulling new types of contracts.
- By Patrick Tucker
Defense
When may a robot kill? New DOD policy tries to clarify
An updated policy tweaks wording in a bid to dispel confusion.
- By Patrick Tucker
Defense
DOD's new data king is skeptical of AI ‘pixie dust’
A more unified approach to data collection will enable bottom-up tools and capabilities
- By Patrick Tucker
Defense
Ukraine is getting nervous about Elon Musk
Kyiv is looking for alternatives to Musk’s Starlink internet terminals and worrying about rising misinformation on Twitter.
- By Patrick Tucker
Defense
The Ukraine war is teaching the U.S. how to move intelligence faster
Part of it is better planning, part is new AI-assisted tools.
- By Patrick Tucker
Defense
The U.S. military is buying electric jet-ski robots
Tests will see whether battery-powered personal watercraft can help with search-and-rescue
- By Patrick Tucker
Defense
U.S. soldiers offer a virtual help desk for Ukraine fighters
U.S. maintenance specialists communicate via encrypted chatrooms to help Ukrainians modify and repair weapons.
- By Patrick Tucker
Defense
U.S. trails China in key tech areas, new report warns
Ex-Google, DOD leaders paint dire picture unless U.S. organizes to win technology races.
- By Patrick Tucker and Lauren C. Williams
Cybersecurity
Iranian hacker group posed as journalists to hunt dissidents
Group spent weeks trying to fool specific targets with intricate appeals—including U.S campaign staff.
- By Patrick Tucker
Cybersecurity
An experiment showed that the military must change Its cybersecurity approach
The Defense Department’s current “checklist” approach can’t keep its networks safe.
- By Patrick Tucker
Defense
Space runs on open source software. The U.S. Air Force is fine with that
Commercial space players don’t have the same security concerns as the Pentagon, but that doesn’t mean they can’t share code.
- By Patrick Tucker
Defense
Marines look to a future where more authority, intel moves to the edge
Commandant sees empowered battlefield commanders, and new support roles further from the front lines.
- By Patrick Tucker
Defense
More reality checks could help keep DOD programs on time and on budget, GAO says
The Pentagon has long espoused “knowledge-based acquisition,” but doesn’t insist on it.
- By Patrick Tucker
Cybersecurity
White House sounds alarm on threat from quantum computers
New directive orders the government to work with industry on security that can stand up to tomorrow’s quantum-powered decryption tools.
- By Patrick Tucker
DHS manipulated report on Russian election interference during the Trump administration, watchdog says
A 2020 report to state and local governments was delayed and altered, a new IG report finds.
- By Patrick Tucker and Courtney Bublé
Defense
As satellite images reshape conflict, security worries mount
Radio data collected from space is the next frontier.
- By Patrick Tucker