Mikayla Easley

Mikayla Easley reports on the Pentagon’s acquisition and use of emerging technologies. Prior to joining DefenseScoop, she covered national security and the defense industry for National Defense Magazine. She received a BA in Russian language and literature from the University of Michigan and a MA in journalism from the University of Missouri. You can follow her on Twitter @MikaylaEasley

Articles by Author

A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress aircraft assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing departs from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, June 25, 2026. Members assigned to both the 20th and 96th Bomb Squadrons performed a flyover in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Preston Crawford)

Air Force moves key B-52 engine and radar upgrades forward

Tech

U.S. Space Force Guardians assigned to Space Delta 5 monitor computer workstations Dec. 18, 2025, at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. (Photo by David Dozoretz)

Space Force creates office to accelerate innovative tech acquisition

Space

Troy Meink appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his nomination to be secretary of the Air Force in Washington, D.C., March 27, 2025. (DoD photo by EJ Hersom)

Meink: Space Force has deployed space control weapons to orbit

Space

YFQ-42 aircraft sit on the flightline at a California test location as part of the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft flight test campaign. (Courtesy Air Force photo)

Air Force plans to field 500 CCA drones by 2032

Weapons

U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 147th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron perform postflight checks on an MQ-9 Reaper drone assigned to the 147th Attack Wing, Texas Air National Guard, at Keflavík Air Base, Iceland, during exercise Northern Viking 26, Aug. 21, 2026. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Edgar Grimaldo)

Air Force moves to accelerate effort to replace MQ-9 Reaper after combat losses in Iran war

Weapons

(Image credit: General Atomics)

Navy kicks off search for first increment of CCA drones

Emerging Tech

Director of Golden Dome for America (GDA) Gen. Mike Guetlein and Vice Director for GDA Lt. Gen. Brian Gibson receive a briefing on the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) at North Field, Andersen Air Force Base, July 16, 2026. LTAMDS is the U.S. Army’s next-generation 360-degree air and missile defense radar designed to detect and track advanced ballistic, hypersonic, cruise missile and airborne threats. (U.S. Navy photo by William J. Busby III)

Initial Golden Dome tests focused on C2, software

Emerging Tech

U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing perform a flyover above Aviano Air Base, Italy, June 1, 2020. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Kelsey Tucker)

Air Force awards $100M production deal for AI-enabled readiness platform

AI

A static test of a sub-scale SRM design for X-Bow’s MDA interceptor. (Image credit: X-Bow Systems)

MDA awards X-Bow to develop low-cost interceptor

Weapons