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

Credit: Anduril

Anduril unveils Thunder attack helicopter, a new loyal wingman drone

Emerging Tech

Artist rendering of Conventional Prompt Strike (Lockheed Martin mage)

GAO: Lockheed Martin struggling to build Navy hypersonic missile at scale

Weapons

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launches SDA’s next batch of Tranche 1 transport layer satellites (Credit: SpaceX)

SDA resumes satellite launch campaign following months-long pause, tech issues

Space

AMDT3 concept graphic (Credit: L3Harris)

SDA awards $1.75B in deals for additional Golden Dome missile tracking sats

Space

The Pentagon (Getty Images)

DOD halts cybersecurity requirements for CMMC Phase 2: ‘The math just simply doesn’t math’

Cyber

Aerial view of the Pentagon building in Arlington, Va., on Wednesday, October 22, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

What the Pentagon’s new post-quantum cryptography directive means for defense contractors

Cyber

Soldiers from B Battery (Dark Eagle), 5th Battalion, 3d Field Artillery Regiment (LRFB), give a capabilities brief on the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon System in Northern Territory, Australia, July 9, 2025. The battery participated in Exercise Talisman Sabre 25. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Perla Alfaro)

GAO: Pentagon’s hypersonic programs grappling with schedule constraints, production woes

Weapons

U.S. Air Force airmen, U.S. Space Force guardians, and industry partners participate in the Department of the Air Force’s Multi-Decision Advantage Sprint for Human-Machine Teaming experiment led by the Advanced Battle Management System Cross-Functional Team in partnership with the Air Force Research Lab, the U.S. Space Force, and the 805th Combat Training Squadron, in Las Vegas, Nev., May 13, 2026. This user-producer co-creation environment allows operators to provide immediate feedback to developers, significantly accelerating the software development cycle for the joint force. (The image has been cropped to focus on the subjects.) (U.S. Air Force photo by Deb Henley)

Air Force, Space Force combine multiple AI tools in latest battle management experiment

AI

The Army Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Project Management Office, in collaboration with the U.S. Special Operations Command, executed a successful flight demonstration involving the first launch of the Air-Launched, Tube-Integrated Unmanned System (Altius) 700 air vehicle on Dec. 3, 2023, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. (Army photo by Daniel Henke)

SOCOM interested in developing long-range kamikaze drones

Weapons