It’s only three weeks into 2026, and Ford is already leading the recall charts.

At their core, refrigerators are relatively simple devices. If you're the type of person to view every extra feature as a component that could potentially go wrong, basic iceboxes are probably the kind you go for. But for those on the other end of the spectrum, Samsung's latest Bespoke Refrigerators with AI inside have more bells and whistles than you might think possible — including an optional 32-inch screen.

Editor's note: The model we tested for this review came out in the second half of 2025 and will continue to be on sale throughout 2026. Hardware will remain the same, the only changes will come in the form of an OTA software update slated for later this year that will add support for Google Gemini, improved food recognition/labeling and more. 

Design: As sleek as a fridge can be

If you're into faux vintage appliances like Smeg's retro-inspired models, Samsung's offerings might not be for you. For everyone else, the Bespoke family does minimalist design better than practically any other line of fridges on the market. Granted, the counter-depth French Door AI model I tested is a bit of a departure thanks to a huge 32-inch screen embedded in its right-side door. That said, there are a ton of configurations, including the choice of a smaller 9-inch panel or models without a display at all. The latter looks like a big rectangle, but in a way that Dieter Rams would probably appreciate (I'm just guessing, I don't have his contact info). Other options include setups ranging from four-door models to side-by-side two-door variants or even a single-panel upright model. 

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On my review unit, the fresh food section is a touch smaller (16.5 cubic feet) than you might expect from a fridge this size, though I've never really felt limited by the amount of available storage. Samsung does a good job of optimizing interior space by providing a number of adjustable shelves, including a sliding one on the right side that makes it easy to store taller items without completely sacrificing flat space for others. The shelves are also spill proof and made out of tempered glass, so they resist scratches and just look a bit nicer than those made from lower-quality materials. I also appreciate how Samsung found a spot between the two crisper drawers for the water filter, instead of just sticking it in the top corner like a lot of competitors. 

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

Meanwhile, in exchange for a slightly smaller main cabinet, this model has what Samsung calls a FlexZone drawer, which might be my second favorite thing about this fridge. It's perfectly designed for storing things like 12-ounce cans and juice boxes, and as someone who always likes to keep a couple of chilled Coke Zeros on standby, it's super convenient. That said, taller bottled drinks may need to be stored on their sides, which doesn't feel quite as efficient. But really, you can put anything you want in there and if you have young children like me, it's an excellent place to keep refrigerated kids' snacks. My four-year-old can go in there on his own without needing help from an adult to reach stuff higher up. Samsung even gives you the ability to set a different temperature for the FlexDrawer, which is a nice touch.

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Additionally, along with some rivals from LG, this fridge also has touch sensors at the bottom of each door that let you open them with a light tap. While I still prefer to just grab the built-in handles (which are located both above and below each door), this is a nice inclusion, particularly on a fridge that doesn't have giant handgrips bolted to the outside. My one small gripe with Samsung's exterior design is that its top isn't completely flat as it dips down in back. Admittedly, this hasn't stopped me from storing stuff like sheet pans and roasting trays above the fridge, but it would be nicer if things were fully level up there. 

Water and ice dispensing: Samsung's Beverage Center reigns supreme

I've already gone on record about how Samsung's Beverage Center is the best new feature to land on any fridge in years, so without belaboring the point, but I'll happily wax poetic about it again. Instead of having a water dispenser installed smack dab on the outside of the door, Samsung opted to hide things behind an exterior flap on the left side of the fridge. This accomplishes several things. Not only does it feel a bit more hygienic because the spigot isn't subjected directly to all the germs swirling around the kitchen or a cough or sneeze from anyone passing by, it also simplifies the fridge's exterior design. This might sound a bit weird, but I've always thought that putting water dispensers on the outside of a fridge was kind of like installing a shower in the middle of a room. It's just kind of awkward. Furthermore, by opening the Beverage Center's door, you also have access to one of the fridge's interior shelves, which makes it quick and easy to grab things like ketchup, mustard or any other sauces you might need for a meal. My wife stashes her matcha there, so it's readily available first thing in the morning. 

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But the most important thing is that right next to the spigot, there's also a built-in water pitcher that automatically refills itself after every use. This means there's pretty much always 40+ ounces of ice-cold water (depending on the specific model) that you can pull out and pour. This allows you to fill up everyone's cup in seconds like a server at a restaurant, instead of blocking the entire fridge while you slowly top off each glass individually. To me, it's the difference between an active process where you can dictate your own pace versus having to stand there while the machine takes its sweet time. Plus, if you like infusing your water with fruit or tea, there's a built-in basket filter for that too. The Beverage Center is a truly useful innovation and one of Samsung’s biggest advantages over its rivals, and because the company patented it, it'll be years before competitors can come up with copies.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

As for ice, the model I'm testing can produce two different types: regular cubes and smaller pebbles. There's also an included scooper and a dedicated shelf for storing it. Now I will admit that the smaller pebbles aren't quite as good as what you get from a standalone nugget-style icemaker, but in my experience they're more than good enough for anyone who likes variety in their frozen water. My small critique for Samsung is that I've heard the ice trays on other models come with sliders that have actual ball bearings instead of plastic rails and I wish the latter were a standard inclusion on every model. There's never so much friction that anything would get properly stuck, it would just be nice if things slid a bit more smoothly.

The screen: A welcome addition to a digital lifestyle

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Of course, one of the biggest potential objections about Samsung's latest fridges may also be one of its biggest strengths: their optional displays. With the continued intrusion of screens into our daily lives, I'm not here to tell you that you need one more. However, even though I was skeptical at first, I've grown to really appreciate having one on the fridge and I'd argue that unless you're skipping the feature entirely, the larger 32-inch panel is what you want. 

The main reason is that, at least for my family, so much of what we do is already digital. Things like calendars, shopping lists, recipes and family photos already live on my phone and being able to share all of that with the fridge directly via Wi-Fi is a major plus. Frankly, it's easier to upload a picture to the fridge's display than it is to print one out and post it, which goes double for Samsung's Bespoke line since its glass front means magnets don't stick. Even though I already have a smart display in our kitchen, the size of Samsung's screen, along with support for a handful of important apps, have turned the fridge into a better family hub than anything else we own. Because there's so much space, there's room for photos, memos, the weather, filter status and a full 30-day calendar — the latter of which has significantly improved my family's planning and coordination.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

The fridge runs Samsung's Tizen OS, which is basically the company's lightweight take on Android, so it's super easy to use. You can swipe left and right to add additional widgets to your screen, play music or even watch videos (YouTube, Samsung TV Plus, etc.) if you're so inclined. That said, sometimes I wish the screen was a bit more responsive, because even though I don't think it's a dealbreaker, after having reviewed several generations of the company's phones, I know Samsung can do better. There are also some settings from its handsets that I wish would get ported over to its fridges — like a dedicated dark mode. When I grab a glass of water later at night, the last thing I need is the entire display blasting my kitchen like a pair of hi-beams.

AI Inside: A work in progress with benefits today

With seemingly every tech company trying to shoehorn AI into its latest products, it's easy to roll your eyes at the idea of adding that into a fridge as well. And I think even Samsung would admit that its efforts to integrate machine learning into the Bespoke line are a work in progress. I've found that while it certainly isn't essential, the AI features found here can be a handy bonus in the right situations. 

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AI Vision is the headline feature in Samsung's package, which uses machine learning and a camera mounted to the roof of the fridge to automatically recognize and record items you put inside. However, there are some limitations. Currently, Samsung's AI can detect 37 different food items like fresh fruit and veggies, along with an additional 50 kinds of packaged goods like yogurt. Furthermore, the camera only records what goes into the fridge's main cabinet, so anything you put in the FlexZone drawer, freezer or either door won't get recorded. Regardless of whether an item is recognized or not, the fridge will then take a photo of the item (and tag it with the name of the food if it can be properly identified). You can then view a list of everything in the fridge via a dedicated tab on its screen (assuming your model has one) or from your phone via Samsung's SmartThings app. From there, you can do things like set names for anything uncategorized or add an expiration date, though I wish the fridge would do that last part on its own.

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

In practice, this means you just put items in the fridge like you would normally and let the AI sort things out on its own. You can always go through the main list to see if you have a specific item or let the fridge automatically delete things when you take them out. That said, the AI doesn't get things right every time, because while Samsung's programming does clear things out after a certain amount of time, you will still need to delete food manually from time to time. Thankfully, for items in the door, the fridge can show you a live feed of what's there, so if you're at the store and can't remember if you have milk or not, you can simply pull out your phone and see for yourself. 

Because the camera is mounted to the top of the fridge, you might not get the clearest picture or you may end up with your hand covering part of the food as the fridge takes a picture as you put items inside. Even so, that's still more than enough for me to be able to tell what something is just by looking at a small icon. I've found that Samsung AI Vision legitimately makes it easier to grocery shop by allowing me to see what food I have at a glance, regardless of whether I'm at home or at the store. 

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

On top of that, the fridge also has built-in meal planning capabilities. This means you can ask the fridge to come up with a dish based on ingredients you already have, and it's surprisingly good. Not only do you have the ability to specify preferences and dietary restrictions, there's a wide variety of recipes it can choose from. On several occasions, I even found that when asked to suggest a recipe, the fridge came up with dishes I already had in mind. Alternatively, it will highlight when you're missing items for a potential dish, so you can grab them the next time you're at the store. This is one of the most helpful features, because often at the end of the week, I find myself with a handful of leftover ingredients. So when the fridge uses that info to suggest recipes that use those items, it helps reduce food waste. 

Sadly, the weakest part of Samsung's AI is Bixby. In addition to being overeager when listening for voice prompts, which ended up causing a lot of inadvertent triggers, Samsung also put the Bixby icon near the bottom left corner of the screen. That's right next to the sensor and handle for the door, resulting in even more unwanted summons. After using this fridge for four months, I wish Bixby would just go away, and it seems Samsung agrees. Sometime later this year, the company is adding support for Google Gemini, which should deliver a massive upgrade to the fridge's voice-controlled capabilities.

A word on ads

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Last fall, to the dismay of many, Samsung announced that it was adding ads to its Family Hub fridges, including Bespoke models with built-in displays. Now no one likes being taunted with commercials, especially when they're on expensive appliances located in the busiest room of their home. Thankfully, I've found that these ads only show up on the Cover Screen, which only appears after no one has used the fridge in a while, kind of like a screensaver on a desktop. Furthermore, you can disable these ads entirely. The downside is that doing so also gets rid of the rotating news and weather widgets that appear on the home screen. But in my experience, that's just fine, because I don't need what is effectively the fridge's lock screen to have that much going on. Plus, when you open the fridge or touch its screen, it instantly reverts to the main home menu, which includes its own set of widgets that you can customize how you like.

Some quick notes and observations

Sam Rutherford for Engadget

The Bespoke fridge’s screen does collect smudges, but so does stainless steel, and it doesn't really impact viewability. And on white glass models like my review unit, the simple design makes it easier to clean and maintain than typical metal-clad rivals. 

The door to the Beverage Center doesn't soft-close like you'd normally expect on a fridge. It's more of a clack, which isn't a bad thing on its own, though I hope Samsung changes its design to match the other doors on future models for consistency's sake. 

Because the fridge runs Tizen and not full Android, there aren't nearly as many choices for widgets. For example, there's a widget for Spotify and Amazon Music, but not YouTube or Apple Music. There's also only a single option for weather and a widget for pinning your favorite websites, but very little choice when it comes to dedicated news options. In my testing, the SmartThings integration worked better on Samsung phones compared to standard Android handsets, but your experience may vary. 

If you are so inclined, you can create shopping lists directly on the fridge and then order them from partners including Instacart, Amazon Fresh, Walmart and others. 

Wrap-up

AI in a fridge might sound ridiculous, but it allows for some genuinely useful features, even if the tech suffers from growing pains. And while this might sound preposterous, I think Samsung should actually double down on the tech by adding even more cameras, so the fridge has more angles and viewpoints to choose from as its algorithms evolve. The ability to automatically track what goes in and out of the fridge makes it easier to both shop and plan meals, and this is just in the early stages of the tech. 

That said, obsessing over AI is sort of besides the point because even without it, Samsung's Bespoke French Door fridge is a first-class icebox. For tech-savvy people, its big screen helps simplify and organize our digital lives while simultaneously allowing the fridge to be helpful in ways you might not have even considered. It's also well-built and exquisitely designed to fit in seamlessly with other modern devices, which feels refreshing considering how often appliances feel like they are lagging years or decades behind gadgets like phones and laptops. And I can't overstate how much I like Samsung's Beverage Center, which in my opinion, is so good it's worth going with a Bespoke fridge just for that one feature. 

In the end, the two biggest factors you'll need to consider are price and your appetite to digitize your kitchen, and by extension, your life. Starting at $3,500 for AI-equipped Bespoke models, Samsung's top-of-the-line fridges are far from cheap. Thankfully, versions without machine learning can be had for much less. But more importantly, you have to be willing to embrace technology's role in your home. You may not agree or want to pay this much for features like this just yet, but Samsung's Bespoke AI 4-Door French Door refrigerator has convinced me there's a happy home for smarter iceboxes.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/samsung-bespoke-fridge-with-ai-review-all-the-bells-and-whistles-140000099.html?src=rss

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The Defense Logistics Agency — an organization responsible for supplying everything from spare parts to food and fuel — is turning to artificial intelligence and machine learning to fix a long-standing problem of predicting what the military needs on its shelves.

While demand planning accuracy currently hovers around 60%, DLA officials aim to push that baseline figure to 85% with the help of AI and ML tools. Improved forecasting will ensure the services have access to the right items exactly when they need them. 

“We are about 60% accurate on what the services ask us to buy and what we actually have on the shelf.  Part of that, then, is we are either overbuying in some capacity or we are under buying. That doesn’t help the readiness of our systems,” Maj. Gen. David Sanford, DLA director of logistics operations, said during the AFCEA NOVA Army IT Day event on Jan. 15.

Rather than relying mostly on historical purchase data, the models ingest a wide range of data that DLA has not previously used in forecasting. That includes supply consumption and maintenance data, operational data gleaned from wargames and exercises, as well as data that impacts storage locations, such as weather.

The models are tied to each weapon system and DLA evaluates and adjusts the models on a continuing basis as they learn. 

“We are using AI and ML to ingest data that we have just never looked at before. That’s now feeding our planning models. We are building individual models, we are letting them learn, and then those will be our forecasting models as we go forward,” Sanford said.

Some early results already show measurable improvements. Forecasting accuracy for the Army’s Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle, for example, has improved by about 12% over the last four months, a senior DLA official told Federal News Network.

The agency has made the most progress working with the Army and the Air Force and is addressing “some final data-interoperability issues” with the Navy. Work with the Marine Corps is also underway. 

“The Army has done a really nice job of ingesting a lot of their sustainment data into a platform called Army 360. We feed into that platform live data now, and then we are able to receive that live data. We are ingesting data now into our demand planning models not just for the Army. We’re on the path for the Navy, and then the Air Force is next. We got a little more work to do with Marines. We’re not as accurate as where we need to be, and so this is our path with each service to drive to that accuracy,” Sanford said.

Demand forecasting, however, varies widely across the services — the DLA official cautioned against directly comparing forecasting performance.

“When we compare services from a demand planning perspective, it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison.  Each service has different products, policies and complexities that influence planning variables and outcomes. Broadly speaking, DLA is in partnership with each service to make improvements to readiness and forecasting,” the DLA official said.

The agency is also using AI and machine learning to improve how it measures true administrative and production lead times. By analyzing years of historical data, the tools can identify how industry has actually performed — rather than how long deliveries were expected to take — and factor that into DLA stock levels.  

“When we put out requests, we need information back to us quickly. And then you got to hold us accountable to get information back to you too quickly. And then on the production lead times, they’re not as accurate as what they are. There’s something that’s advertised, but then there’s the reality of what we’re getting and is not meeting the target that that was initially contracted for,” Sanford said.

The post DLA turns to AI, ML to improve military supply forecasting first appeared on Federal News Network.

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Compact SUVs remain one of the most competitive segments in 2026, and a handful of models are redefining what value really means. With new-car prices continuing to climb, buyers are demanding vehicles that deliver practicality, comfort, and modern tech, all without sacrificing affordability. These standout compact SUVs prove you don’t have to overspend to get a well-rounded package.

Gone are the days in which you needed to spend a fortune to get a good smartphone. In 2026, features once exclusive to high-end smartphones – big batteries, multi-camera arrays, high refresh rate OLED displays and more – have made their way down to more affordable models. Yes, you’ll still need to buy a flagship smartphone to get the best camera or fastest processor, but you don't have to make nearly as many compromises as you once did if you have a strict budget to adhere to when you go shopping for your next smartphone. If you have less than $600 to spend, let us help you figure out what features to prioritize when trying to find the best midrange smartphone.

Table of contents

• Best midrange phones in 2026

• What is a midrange phone?

• What to consider before buying a midrange smartphone

• What won't you get from a midrange phone

Best midrange phones for 2026

What is a midrange phone?

While the term frequently appears in articles and videos, there isn’t an agreed-upon definition for “midrange” beyond a phone that isn’t a flagship or an entry-level option. Most of our recommendations cost between $400 and $600 — any less and you should expect significant compromises. If you have more to spend, you might as well consider flagships like the Apple iPhone 17 and the Samsung Galaxy S25 if you want the best smartphone experience. Devices like Pixel phones often sit in this price range too, offering some of the best value for Android buyers.

What to consider before buying a midrange smartphone

Buying a new device can be intimidating, but a few questions can help guide you through the process. First: what platform do you want to use? If the answer is iOS, that narrows your options down to exactly one phone. (Thankfully, it’s great.) And if you’re an Android fan, there’s no shortage of compelling options. Both platforms have their strengths, so you shouldn’t rule either out.

Of course, also consider how much you’re comfortable spending. Even increasing your budget by $100 more can get you a dramatically better product. Moreover, manufacturers tend to support their more expensive devices for longer with software updates and security updates, so it’s worth buying something toward the top limit of what you can afford. 

Having an idea of your priorities will help inform your budget. Do you want a long battery life or fast charging? Do you value speedy performance above all else? Or would you like the best possible cameras with high megapixel counts? While they continue to improve every year, even the best midrange smartphones still demand some compromises, and knowing what’s important to you will make choosing one easier.

What won’t you get from a midrange smartphone?

Every year, the line between midrange and flagship phones blurs as more upmarket features and functions trickle down to more affordable models. When Engadget first published this guide in 2020, it was tricky to find a $500 phone with waterproofing and 5G. In 2026, the biggest thing you might miss out on is wireless charging – and even then, that’s becoming less true.

One thing your new phone probably won’t come with is a power adapter; many companies have stopped including chargers with all of their smartphones. Performance has improved in recent years, but can still be hit or miss as most midrange phones use slower processors that can struggle with multitasking. Thankfully, their camera systems have improved dramatically, and you can typically expect at least a dual-lens system on most midrange smartphones below $600 with decent camera quality, selfie performance and software support to keep things running smoothly for years to come..

Midrange smartphone FAQs

How long do midrange phones get software updates?

Support varies by brand, but most midrange phones receive around three to five years of software and security updates. Apple tends to support iPhones longer while companies like Google and Samsung now promise several years of Android and security patches for their midrange models. Budget-focused brands might offer less so it’s worth checking the update policy before you buy.

Are midrange phones good for gaming?

Yes, many midrange phones handle gaming well, especially popular titles like Fortnite, Genshin Impact and Call of Duty Mobile. They usually include capable processors, though you won’t always get the smoothest performance in the most demanding mobile games or at max settings. If you play casually or stick to less graphically intensive titles a midrange phone will feel more than adequate.

Georgie Peru contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/best-midrange-smartphone-183006463.html?src=rss

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The annual Consumer Electronics Show is currently raging in Las Vegas, and as has become traditional over the past decade, automakers and their suppliers now use the conference to announce their technology plans. Tonight it was Ford's turn, and it is very on-trend for 2026. If you guessed that means AI is coming to the Ford in-car experience, congratulations, you guessed right.

Even though the company owes everything to mass-producing identical vehicles, it says that it wants AI to personalize your car to you. "Our vision for the customer is simple, but not elementary: a seamless layer of intelligence that travels with you between your phone and your vehicle," said Doug Field, Ford's chief EV, design, and digital officer.

"Not generic intelligence—many people can do that better than we can. What customers need is intelligence that understands where you are, what you’re doing, and what your vehicle is capable of, and then makes the next decision simpler," Field wrote in a blog post Ford shared ahead of time with Ars.

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Video footage published on Facebook shows United States Air Force CV-22B Osprey aircraft from the 7th Special Operations Squadron conducting fast-rope and rescue training at RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom. The aircraft, stationed at RAF Mildenhall, carried out the drills using standard special-operations procedures. According to OSINTdefender, the training activity involved fast-rope insertion teams […]

Interview transcript:

Terry Gerton Recent DOD news revealed that the military says it’s short 20,000 cyber professionals, and we’ve heard a number probably bigger than that by an order of magnitude for the commercial sector. What are the biggest obstacles that you think are hindering building this cyber workforce?

Ryan Dunford I think some of the biggest obstacles to building that workforce come from the idea that the cyber industry is extremely complicated or that it requires some sort of superior intellect for somebody to get into, that it’s not accessible. I think another part is that the education feels out of reach for some, like they don’t have the ability to get the certifications or the schooling required in order to break into the industry.

Terry Gerton So you’re making the point that the veteran population would be a great target for building the cyber workforce if we could recruit more veterans into these kinds of positions. Tell me more about the connections that you draw between military experience and cyber work.

Ryan Dunford Well, from my own experience, when I was recruited into the Marine Corps, I took the ASVAB. They gave me a choice of jobs and to be honest, at 19 years old, I just picked the one that sounded the coolest and I had no IT background or anything like that. But what it allowed me to do was get myself the IT training, the experience, the on-the-job training, everything that would then serve me later on in my career when I got out into the private sector.

Terry Gerton And for veterans who may be leaving the military without military IT experience, how did they even begin to think about connecting to a cyber opportunity?

Ryan Dunford For somebody who’s been in the military, but not in military IT, the transition is not as hard as you would think. There is schooling out there, there is education out there for you, and the skills that you learned as an active-duty military member can serve you across the cyber industry in so many different ways. The inherent leadership training that we get as active-duty military members, the attention to detail that is stressed so much, operational excellence, all the great things that make you good at being a soldier, sailor, Marine will make you good at your job in the private sector as well. The only thing you need to bridge the gap is to just reach out and get the training.

Terry Gerton We talk a lot, in terms of veteran employment and transition, about those soft skills, those leadership skills, that flexibility and initiative. But cyber really does have some technical skill requirements. Where should folks be thinking about looking for the right kind of training? Are they just credentials? Are they degree programs? Is it all of the above? If someone’s interested in this, where should they start?

Ryan Dunford Without formal experience, there’s a few different places you can start. There are industry certifications from some of the big names like CompTIA, Microsoft, Cisco, Amazon, AWS. Those certifications are going to serve you extremely well. They are highly visible to employers on a resume and can help establish that you have put in the work and have the technical knowledge required to make it in the industry.

Terry Gerton I’m speaking with Ryan Dunford. He’s a former Marine and lead infrastructure engineer at Bit-Wizards. Let’s change the focus a little bit. We’ve been talking about veterans so far. But for folks who are still on active duty and maybe separating soon, what programs should they be looking at it? Are you engaged with the SkillBridge program or other sorts of GI Bill-funded certifications that folks might engage with to help prepare them for cyber opportunities?

Ryan Dunford First and foremost, listen to the transition assistance folks. That was a big part of transitioning out of the military. It’s easy, at the end there, to kind of blow it off and just get super impatient to get out. But the transition assistance program for the military is excellent and helps a lot. I would say to those people: Start looking around for colleges. There are a couple colleges out there that offer IT industry certifications to go along with your degree, and that just makes you even stronger in the workforce. There are programs out there that will allow you to leverage your GI Bill in order to break into the cyber field, whether it be in IT administration or cybersecurity or anything like that. All of those opportunities you have in front of you, take your time, find the one that you want, and pursue it with the same determination you do any other mission.

Terry Gerton You started by saying people are sometimes intimidated by the complexity or the technology in a cyber job. Why don’t you take just a minute and tell us what you think it means to work in cyber? What would people be doing day to day when they come into the office?

Ryan Dunford It’s a very diverse field. There’s a lot of choices out there as far as what you want your career to be and the path that you could take. I personally, as a lead infrastructure engineer, work a client-facing job where every day I’m taking calls from different clients with different types of IT problems. The biggest benefit to that is that I get a diverse challenge every day. But I have to maintain those customer service skills. I have maintain a sense of duty to the client. A lot of those things that I learned in the military. And then among the small team that I work with, having the adaptability and the leadership skills that I’ve learned in the military has also benefited me. If you want to specialize, you absolutely can. There are places you can go where you could, if you wanted to be a cybersecurity professional and just work in that security sector, you absolutely could do that. If you want to just work in the background and work in programming or software development or something like that — that’s all available to you. Just because you feel like the part of it that you’ve seen might be a little bit intimidating or that you don’t quite understand it, I’d still encourage every veteran to look into IT as a possible career because there could be something out there for you. There’s a little something for everybody; some of it more on the customer service and soft-skill side, some of the more on the highly technical side. But it’s all there for you.

Terry Gerton So should someone just go to Indeed, for example, and search “cyber jobs” and start reading about what they require? Is that a good way to get a feel for it?

Ryan Dunford A lot of the skills, like I mentioned before, are already there. A lot active duty military members have a lot of skills necessary to make it in the IT world. But that’s definitely something that can help. Go out to the job boards, start looking at the job postings that are out there. One of the challenges that veterans run into when they transfer into the private sector is the language barrier. The military has its own language, the acronyms and the different terminology that gets used for different things doesn’t always translate directly into the private sector. So it can be extremely valuable to read those job postings. Find out what terminology is being used in the private sector — what one thing means and how to associate that with the corresponding military term. Those sort of things will serve you really well when you’re out there looking for those jobs.

The post The Pentagon’s short more than 20,000 cyber pros. Veterans could help fill the gap. first appeared on Federal News Network.

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The Federal Aviation Administration has been working to update its aging air traffic control system, literally, for decades now. But 2026 is looking to be a big year on the FAA modernization front. The One Big Beautiful Bill Congress passed earlier this year puts more than $12 billion toward air traffic control modernization, and the FAA’s new administrator expects to obligate about half of that by the end of this fiscal year.

The agency is on an aggressive schedule to completely replace the air traffic control system within the next three years, and the billions of dollars in reconciliation funding targeted for expenditure in fiscal 2026 is meant to lay the foundation for that long-term plan. The agency says it is using the funds to modernize its telecommunications and air surveillance systems, including by replacing aging copper circuits with fiber optics.

“When we talk about modernizing telco, most people think about moving from copper to fiber, going from analog to digital. And that’s all true, but there’s another element of modernization that we aren’t doing today,” Bryan Bedford, the FAA’s administrator, told the Senate Commerce Committee this month. “The second round of funding that we’re asking for will be to re-architect how the fiber is laid. For example, Dallas-Fort Worth recently had a significant outage. There, the system theoretically was modernized, but the architecture of that system had not been modernized. So there’s really a two-step process here. There is still another step that has to happen to get from analog to digital, which will drive the resilience and our capabilities to increase bandwidth in our facilities.”

Bedford told lawmakers the telco modernization work is now about 35% complete, and that portion of the overall project should be finished by the third quarter of fiscal 2027.

New prime integrator

But to finish all the work the agency believes will fully modernize the system, officials say they’ll need another $20 billion on top of the $12.5 billion they refer to as a “down payment.” And to manage the overall project, the FAA earlier this month hired Peraton to serve as the prime integrator for the new system.

In order to meet that three-year target, Bedford said the agency built in specific incentives to reward performance and on-time delivery across 14 areas the FAA has identified as “critical needs.”

“We set up a series of needs packages that clearly articulate what the work streams are and the estimated timeline to completion,” he said. “Peraton’s profit is essentially broken into three different elements. There’s a fixed profit element of 3% and then there’s a variable element of 6%. The variable element is contingent upon completing the plan on budget and on time with our satisfaction, and we will hold back 3% of the potential profits for any potential damages that might happen for failure to comply with our work packages. So it’s a very strenuous agreement, and we have vigilant oversight on it.”

Unsustainable legacy systems

Meanwhile, the agency says it will also need additional funding to keep the current system up and running while the new one is being built. The Government Accountability Office has identified 105 individual components of the overall system that it’s deemed unsustainable as those subsystems, many of them decades old, continue to age.

And so, Bedford said, the $5 billion in annual “modernization” funding Congress is considering as part of the standard appropriations process is more about operating and sustaining those legacy systems than modernizing them.

“As you read many of these audit reports, you learn the same thing that I have, which is 80% of our infrastructure is considered obsolete and/or unsustainable,” he said. “So the vast majority of that $5 billion doesn’t actually go to build new brick and mortar. 85 to 90% of those funds actually go to repairing, painting or replacing elevators and HVAC systems and plumbing and roofs. Frankly, we’re putting lipstick on a pig. So you may think you’re buying brand new infrastructure with the $5 billion but what you’re buying is sustainment of the old system.”

The overall modernization project is broken down into five categories: communications, surveillance, automation, facilities, and broad updates across the state of Alaska.

Workforce concerns

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), the ranking Democrat on the transportation subcommittee on aviation, space, and innovation, argued there needs to be one more: workforce.

“We must remember that the recent aviation safety crisis was driven by decades of the FAA pouring billions into unproven technologies and costly service contracts as it pursued, in vain, modernization projects with overly ambitious goals and constantly changing requirements,” she said. “These shiny objects lured the FAA into neglecting the health, capabilities and capacity of our system’s most important assets, its people. Under Presidents of both parties and across multiple Congresses, ATC shed critical expertise and experience. And between 2013 and 2023, the FAA only hired two thirds of the controllers that the FAA’s own staffing model called for. So today, we find ourselves short 3,500 air traffic controllers, while air travel rises to record highs and controllers are forced to regularly work 60 hour weeks because well over 90% of airports are understaffed. Placing the lives of our constituents in the hands of civil servants who are overworked and utterly exhausted was and remains unfair, unacceptable and ultimately dangerous.”

Bedford said the agency is taking workforce issues seriously under a separate initiative, called Flight Plan 2026. He said the FAA has plans to hire 8,900 new controllers between now and 2028.

But the recent government shutdown didn’t help matters. An estimated 500 people withdrew from the FAA’s controller training programs while they were waiting for the government to resume normal operations. And for controllers already on the job, staffing shortages caused an unprecedented number of safety-related air traffic slowdowns.

“Staffing triggers reached unprecedented levels, rising from mere single digits prior to the lapse to more than 80 in a single day,” Bedford said. “Applying the hard lessons we’ve learned from the DCA accident, the FAA safety team identified controller workload and system demand as emerging risk factors. And as a response to this increased risk, we temporarily reduced operations at 40 high traffic airports. The connection between controller workload, system demand and operational risk was unmistakable, and it reinforced the need for the FAA to act decisively when the data demanded it, and underscored the importance of stable controller funding.”

The post FAA ramps up billions in spending as ‘down payment’ for air traffic overhaul first appeared on Federal News Network.

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