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

The 805th Combat Training Squadron and members of industry gather to participate in the second Decision Advantage Sprint for Human-Machine Teaming wargame in July 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Debora Henley.)

AI tools accelerated battle management decisions during latest Air Force DASH wargame

AI

A signage of Microsoft is seen on March 13, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Jeenah Moon/Getty Images)

Pentagon terminates use of China-based engineers to support cloud systems

Cyber

A YFQ-42A Collaborative Combat Aircraft takes off during flight testing at a California test location. (Courtesy photo)

General Atomics begins flight tests for Air Force CCA drone program

Weapons

U.S. Space Force’s National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program launched the USSF-36 mission carrying the U.S. Air Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) spacecraft, at 11:50 p.m. EST (8:50 p.m. PST) into orbit Aug. 21 from historic Launch Complex (LC)-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida. (Photo credit: SpaceX)

Pentagon launches secretive X-37B space plane for new mission

Emerging Tech

(Image courtesy Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company)

Sikorsky lands Army contract to modernize Black Hawk helicopters to carry and launch drones

Emerging Tech

(Getty Images)

Space Force stands up third ‘system delta’ acquisition unit, plans to activate five more in 2025

Space

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin delivers a keynote address on the state of the U.S. Air Force during the Air and Space Forces Association 2024 Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colo., Feb. 13, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Olivia Stecker)

Gen. Allvin unexpectedly announces retirement as Air Force chief of staff

Tech

An air battle manager participants in the 805th Combat Training Squadron’s second Decision Advantage Sprint for Human-Machine Teaming wargame in July 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Debora Henley.)

Air Force experimenting with AI microservices during new battle management wargame series

AI

U.S. Air Force air battle managers participate in the Department of the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System Cross-Functional Team first Decision Advantage Sprint for Human-Machine Teaming, or DASH, experiment, recently held at the Howard Hughes Operations, or H2O, Center in Las Vegas, Nev., April 8, 2025. This two-week event brought together operational warfighters and industry and Shadow Operations Center-Nellis software developers to prototype microservices aimed at accelerating and improving decision-making in high-tempo battle management scenarios framed by the Transformational Model. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Air Force putting AI-based model for battle management decisions through its paces

AI