The Department of Defense is creating a unit to expedite the adoption of cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools, focused on pilot programs to give warfighters and decisionmakers an AI advantage.

“We need an all-hands-on-deck approach to accelerate development and deployment of these tools for the Department of Defense to responsibly harness the tremendous promise of AI in everything from financial management to logistics to operations planning to autonomous systems,” Radha Plumb, leader of the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, said in a statement.

The new team focused on generative AI is arriving as a previous Pentagon effort known as Task Force Lima is shutting down. The Pentagon announced Wednesday that the new AI team, the AI RCC, would focus on piloting programs in warfighting and enterprise management areas.

The warfighting area includes weapons development and testing; uncrewed and autonomous systems; intelligence activity; and information and cyber operations. The AI RCC will initially receive approximately $100 million for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 for its pilot projects.

The world is entering an “era of great experimentation” in space, as reusable launch systems and other game-changing leaps in technology open a window for rapid advances — and it’s crucial that the U.S. is the first to build a presence on the moon, reach Mars, and travel deeper into the cosmos.

Those were the messages that Jared Isaacman, the billionaire entrepreneur and trailblazing commercial astronaut tapped by Mr. Trump to be the next NASA administrator, put forward in remarks at the Spacepower 2024 conference in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday — his first major public speech since being nominated last week.

National Security Correspondent Ben Wolfgang is on the ground at Spacepower 2024, reporting on Mr. Isaacman’s statements about the interplay between NASA, other federal agencies and such deep-pocketed private companies as SpaceX, the firm led by billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk. “We are going to inevitably have a presence on the moon and then on Mars, and we’re just going to keep making the high ground higher,” Mr. Isaacman said. “And it’s imperative that we are first in that regard.”

“We have no idea what the future may hold. But I know we can’t be second in that,” he said, “whether it’s been developments in biotechnology, 3D printing organs or manufacturing — or who knows what we might find — that could … shift the entire balance of power here on Earth.”

China’s Typhoon hacking groups are not as mysterious as they seem and they look to have exploited hardware flaws that no software patch can fix, cybersecurity experts warned in testimony to the Senate this week.

U.S. national security officials suspect the Typhoon cyberattackers pre-positioned themselves in Western infrastructure systems for future sabotage operations and have penetrated telecommunications networks to spy on Americans. And the problem of foreign cyberspying and digital attacks may only grow as the Biden administration turns over power to Mr. Trump’s team. 

Center for Strategic and International Studies’ James Andrew Lewis testified to the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday that the Salt Typhoon hackers suspected of hitting the telecom sector appear to be Unit 61938, an intelligence unit first indicted in 2014. “If it is 61938, we know their names, we have their pictures, it’s been ten years and they’ve been very busy,” said Mr. Lewis. “Our response has been to give them a stern lecture and send a few strongly worded notes.”  He told lawmakers Washington’s lackluster response has sent the signal that it is open season on America and “everyone on this committee is a target.”

U.S. cyber officials and international allies issued guidance regarding the hacking of the telecom sector earlier this month that stressed the need for more stringent encryption and more monitoring of networks.  James Mulvenon, Pamir Consulting’s chief intelligence officer, testified Wednesday that the guidance suggested the officials know that a software fix will not solve the Chinese hackers’ successes. 

Google’s claim this week to have made a quantum computing breakthrough is nothing short of mind-blowing. Its immediate relevance to national security is likely to be in the realm of cryptography and the pursuit of a cryptanalytically relevant quantum computer. Such CRQCs are highly sought after and feared by governments and top tech minds alike, as the hoped-for tool is expected to smash encryption that protects everything from financial transactions to nations’ top secrets. 

Scientists and engineers appear a long way off from creating a CRQC — if it is possible — but Google believes the new quantum chip it calls “Willow” will move the California company “significantly along that path towards commercially relevant applications.”

National Security Agency Research Director Gilbert Herrera has said public forecasts of CRQCs’ arrival are often far more optimistic than what he hears from the engineers and scientists deep in technical work. Speaking at a military communications conference last month, Mr. Herrera acknowledged the formidable task of those engaged in developing quantum tech and praised Google’s work. 

Andrew P. Napolitano examines how, under the first Trump administration, likely behind the president’s back but with the knowledge of senior officials he appointed, the FBI purchased Israeli-manufactured software known as zero-click. 

“Zero-click refers to the ability of the user of the software to target and download the contents of a computer without the need for tricking an unwary target into clicking on a link,” writes Mr. Napolitano. “The manufacturer of this diabolical software is known as NSO, and the trade name of the software is Pegasus.”

“When President Biden learned of the FBI’s use of Pegasus without search warrants, he banned it from government use, and his Department of Commerce banned all American purchases from NSO. The FBI now stores this software in a warehouse in New Jersey,” writes Mr. Napolitano, who asks: “Why didn’t Mr. Biden just do his job and prohibit all warrantless domestic spying?”

• Dec. 12 — Accelerating Replicator and Fielding Technologies for Today’s Fight, Hudson Institute

• Dec. 12 — What’s Ahead for Innovators and Creators in the New Trump Administration? Hudson Institute

• Dec. 12 — Threat Multiplier: Climate, Military Leadership and the Fight for Global Security, Center for Strategic and International Studies

• Dec. 16 — North Africa’s Renewable Energy Landscape: A Comparative Analysis, Middle East Institute

• Jan. 7-10 — CES 2025, Consumer Technology Association