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

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin speaks to Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force David Flosi on a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft during Bamboo Eagle 24-3, an Air Combat Command directed exercise, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Aug. 5, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Julian Atkins)

Allvin: AI adoption within the Air Force currently a ‘mixed bag’

AI

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Space Force’s GPS III SV-08 mission payload before liftoff, May 30, 2025. (Screenshot from SpaceX livestream)

Space Force launches second ‘rapid-response’ GPS mission

Space

(Photo credit: Department of the Air Force)

Jennifer Orozco named acting Air Force CIO

IT

The Defense Information Systems Agency building complex at Fort Meade, Md., Jan. 2, 2013. (DoD photo by Thomas L. Burton/Released)

DISA expects 10 percent reduction in workforce due to DOGE-inspired campaign

IT

Gen. Chance Saltzman, and Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth sign a memorandum of understanding May 21, 2025, at the GEOINT Symposium. (Photo credit: Space Force)

Space Force, NGA reach agreement on purchasing power for commercial ISR

Space

Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Washington D.C., May 20, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Chad Trujillo)

Saltzman: Space Force underfunded for space control, other new missions

Space

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks alongside Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in the Oval Office at the White House on May 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump announced his plans for the “Golden Dome,” a national ballistic and cruise missile defense system. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump: Golden Dome will cost around $175B, be ‘fully operational’ in three years

Space

Rendering of Northrop Grumman’s GAS-T design that will leverage an ESPAStar-D satellite platform to add fuel and extend the life of in-orbit assets. (Northrop Grumman image)

Space Force still weighing cost, operational advantages of satellite refueling tech

Space

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)

Senate confirms Troy Meink as 27th secretary of the Air Force

Emerging Tech