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

Airmen assigned to the 138th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron, Colorado Air National Guard, perform maintenance on a high mobility antenna during Resolute Space 2025 at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, July 12, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jade M. Caldwell)

Space Force training for on-orbit warfare in inaugural Resolute Space exercise

Space

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing a series of executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on January 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Trump names vice chief nominees for Space Force, Air Force

Space

A person holds a telephone displaying the logo of Elon Musk s artificial intelligence grok in front of a background lit by a blue light in Kerlouan in Brittany in France on February 18 2025. (Photo by Vincent Feuray / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP)

Pentagon awards mega contracts to Musk-owned company, other firms for new ‘frontier AI’ projects

AI

Members of the 18th Space Defense Combat Squadron, a unit assigned to U.S. Space Forces – Space under the USSF Force Generation model, observe orbital data at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., Oct. 4, 2024.  (Photo by David Dozoretz)

Space Force developing new cloud-based digital environment for training

Space

Winston Beauchamp speaks at the 2022 DefenseTalks conference hosted by DefenseScoop. (Scoop News Group photo)

Winston Beauchamp retires from federal service after 29 years at Air Force, IC

IT

On-orbit render of a spacecraft resembling Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications (ESS) satellite. (Credit: Boeing)

Space Force awards Boeing $2.8B deal to deliver next-gen nuclear communication satellites

Space

(Air Force rendering of the F-47)

Pentagon budget goes ‘all in’ on Air Force’s F-47, putting Navy’s sixth-gen fighter on hold

Emerging Tech

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Marcella Philips, 2nd Maintenance Group weapons standardization loading standardization crew chief, and Tech Sgt. Darrell Stewart, 307th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron loading standardization crew member, secure the Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon to the B-52H Stratofortress ejector rack, at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, November 2, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Nicole Ledbetter)

Air Force revives ARRW hypersonic missile with procurement plans for fiscal 2026

Weapons

Members of the 56th Air and Space Communications Squadron at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam operate cyber systems using a Enhanced communications flyaway kit during the Global Information Dominance Experiment 3 and Architect Demonstration Evaluation 5 at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, July, 12, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Amy Picard)

DOD CIO solicits industry to inform revamp of ‘cumbersome’ cybersecurity risk framework

IT