Can ‘drone whisperers’ in Ukraine use the supply chain to ground weapons?

Apr 12, 2023
Weapons inspectors hope preventing the sale of vital parts will hobble Russian arsenals.
A member of a Ukrainian volunteer unit, which has shot down multiple Iranian drones, walks after posing in a trench.
Yasuiyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images

Pentagon's weapons buyer on replenishing stockpiles and fortifying supply chains

Dec 6, 2022
"You can't separate" economic and national security, says Undersecretary of Defense William LaPlante.
Kai Ryssdal, left, and Undersecretary of Defense William LaPlante at a contractor's site in California. The disruptions caused by COVID showed that the "just-in-time economy, the minimized inventory — it's not resilient," LaPlante said.
Andie Corban/Marketplace

What growing up in a company town is like when the company is the U.S. government

Aug 13, 2018
In her new memoir, Karen Piper details growing up near the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station.
Duplexes at the Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake circa 1948 
J.R. Eyerman/Getty Images

Policing the streets with military hardware

Sep 29, 2016
Craig Atkinson's documentary "Do Not Resist" looks at the militarization of American law enforcement.
Riot police block off a ramp to a highway during a demonstration against police brutality in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 22, 2016 following the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by police two days earlier and two nights of riots.
Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

AR-15 rifle becoming tragically iconic

Jun 13, 2016
The style of rifle has been used in several mass shootings.
FBI agents are seen outside of Pulse nightclub, the spot of the nation's deadliest mass shooting in modern history. Nearly 50 people are reported dead and at least that many more are injured.
Gerardo Mora/Getty Images

Let’s do the numbers: America’s multibillion-dollar weapons business

May 23, 2016
The U.S. is lifting its ban on selling lethal weapons to Vietnam. What does this mean for America's weapons business?
Models of missiles at the Vietnam People's Air Force Museum on May 23 in Hanoi, Vietnam. U.S. President Barack Obama announced the U.S. is fully lifting its embargo on sales of lethal weapons to Vietnam.
Linh Pham/Getty Images

Autonomous weapons and the eventual robot uprising

Jul 31, 2015
Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and others signed a letter to ban, yes, killer bots.

For public good, not for profit.

Should weapons have a kill switch?

Apr 6, 2015
...or a "not kill" switch, rather.

Why Ferguson's police department uses military weapons

Aug 14, 2014
The federal government helps local law enforcement acquire military equipment.

What we know about Buk missiles

Jul 18, 2014
The deadly consequences of Cold War weapons that won't go away.