U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (L) and Emil Michael (R), Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, tour an exhibit of Multi-Domain Autonomous systems at the Pentagon July 16, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Members of the Air Force and Ohio Air National Guard look at laptops during field prototype testing evaluation for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) Portable Command and Control Enclave (C2E). (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Shane Hughes).
During the first Continuous Operational Learning and Test (COLT) mission at Camp Beauregard, LA, a Soldier from Sioux Company (Multi-Purpose Company), 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, leveraged the Soldier Borne Mission Command Surrogate (SBMC-S) system to communicate with fellow Soldiers. (U.S. Army photo by Zach Montanaro, PEO Soldier Public Affairs)
Army Staff Sgt. Kristopher Runyon, assigned to Joint Task Force-Southern Border, aims a Dronebuster Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft System (C-sUAS) during a patrol along the Rio Grande River near Eagle Pass, Texas, June 14, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Adrianna Douglas)
Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael and Assistant Secretary of War for Science and Technology Dr. Joseph S. Jewell take questions from the press. following the Department of Defense Lab Day at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 05, 2026. (DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Carson Croom)
Scouts with the 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, fly a Rogue 1 drone by Teledyne FLIR Defense during Project Convergence Capstone 6 at Fort Irwin, California, July 22, 2026. (DefenseScoop photo by Drew F. Lawrence).
Project Convergence Capstone 6 produced lessons that soldiers measured in capability, reliability, weight and the oppressive desert conditions that pervaded all of it.
Participants discuss how emerging tech can drive breakthroughs in lethality at GDIT’s ‘Battlespace of the Future’ summit. Panelists include, from left: DefenseScoop Editor-in-Chief Jon Harper, General Dynamics Ordnance & Tactical Systems’ Chris Haynes, Army Lt. Col. William Taylor, Army’s Bhavanjot Singh, Marine Corps Col. Matthew Ritchie, and Rep. Patrick Harrigan (NC-10). (Scoop News Group photo)
Participants discuss the need to prioritize the development of operating systems that more easily integrate with common command-and-control networks at GDIT’s ‘Battlespace of the Future’ summit. Panelists include, from left: Scoop News Group’s Billy Mitchell, Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Gibbs, Marine Corps Col. Jeremy “Hank” Hester, Navy Capt. JJ Murawski, and General Dynamics Land Systems’ Bill Tecos. (Scoop News Group photo)
While developing Odyssey, NPS computer science student U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Kyle Hicks turned to AI to write most of the code powering the application. Hicks’ Odyssey exemplifies the broader applications of AI in the U.S. Department of War, supporting the day-to-day work of service members across the force, from writing awards to managing projects to analyzing data. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist Seaman Katherine Eldridge)
Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Schiess faces a Senate Armed Services Committee nomination hearing on Capitol Hill, July 16, 2026. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
A Marine assigned to Wounded Warrior Battalion West as a recovering service member uses an artificial intelligence (AI) tool for resume writing during aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Feb. 26, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Anthony C. Ramsey Jr.)
U.S. Air Force F-16 Falcons from Ellington Field, Texas, receive fuel from a U.S. Air Force KC-135 from the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Alabama on June 13, 2023. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Nicholas Faddis.)
A plane flies over The Pentagon (front) with the US Capitol (C, background) in Washington, DC, on January 11, 2024. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)
An American flag is flown outside of the Pentagon, headquarters for the United States Department of Defense on July 29, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
Rachel Kinard, Air Force Test Pilot School director of research, and Lt. Col. Philip Downing, 370th Flight Test Squadron commander, depart for a HAVE HEAT test mission at Edwards Air Force Base, California, April 16, 2026. Leveraging Lockheed Martin’s Infrared Search and Track Legion Pod, during the HAVE HEAT program, the X-62 VISTA platform demonstrated the ability of AI agents to ingest live infrared sensor data, directing the X-62 to autonomously intercept an airborne target in real time. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lindsey Iniguez)
The Salesforce corporate logo is displayed at the top of their building in midtown Manhattan, seen from the 86th floor observation deck of the Empire State Building on April 30, 2026, in New York City. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Jan. 26, 2026) A mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicle equipped with a mobile-low, slow, small-unmanned aircraft integrated defeat system (M-LIDS) launcher fires a counter-unmanned aerial system at a fixed wing target during a training exercise in Bahrain. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Iain Page)
U.S. Air Force Airmen attach balloons to a drone during an X4 and SMASH 2000L Systems Firing Qualification at Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center’s North Training Area, Wyoming, May 15, 2026. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michael A. Richmond)