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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

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)

Trump’s Air Force secretary nominee pledges ‘holistic look’ at service modernization efforts

Space

Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman delivers remarks during the Spacepower Conference at Orlando, Florida, Dec. 10, 2024. (U.S. Space Force photo by Senior Airman Zachary Foster)

Space Force writing new framework to outline ‘space warfighting’ concepts, definitions

Space

(iStock/Getty Images)

DISA launching experimental cloud-based chatbot for Indo-Pacific Command

AI

A rendering of a next-gen fighter. (Boeing photo)

Boeing wins contract for Air Force’s NGAD stealth fighter jet — now known as the F-47

Emerging Tech

Venice Goodwine speaks at the 2020 Zero Trust Security Summit. (FedScoop)

Venice Goodwine exiting role as Air Force CIO

IT

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. (Space Force photo by David Dozoretz)

New Space Force plan charts path for enhanced Unified Data Library

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)

China practicing on-orbit ‘dogfighting’ tactics with space assets, Gen. Guetlein says

Space

(Image credit: Defense Innovation Unit)

DIU taps 4 vendors — including Ukrainian firms — for long-range kamikaze drones

Weapons

U.S. airmen participate in the Tactical Operations Center-Light experiment at the 805th Combat Training Squadron, also known as the Shadow Operations Center – Nellis, Capstone 24A experimentation event at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, June 28, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Keith Keel)

How the Air Force is experimenting with AI-enabled tech for battle management

AI