Hung Cao, Acting Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV), speaks to the crew of Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) during an all-hands call on the flight deck, Aug. 7, 2026. SECNAV was recently in San Diego visiting various commands to speak with Sailors and their families, focusing on his top priority, “taking care of our people.” (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Pheona David)
Hung Cao warned sailors, Marines and Navy civilians about a "deliberate effort to gather intelligence, test our defenses, disrupt our operations, and intimidate our force."
Spc.Isaiah Newton from the Indiana National Guard 137th CSC, engages in Crisis Response Handler course materials during Cyber Shield 2026 at the Professional Education Center in Little Rock, Ark. (Texas Army National Guard, photo by: SPC Paul Zepeda)
U.S. Marines with I Marine Expeditionary Force, prepare a first-person view small unmanned aircraft system during an FPV sUAS live fire demonstration at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Jan. 29, 2026. I MEF, in partnership with Defense Innovation Unit, evaluated fiber-optic drones for use in signal-degraded environments. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joshua Bustamante)
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology Dr. Joseph S. Jewell participates in the Department of War Lab Day at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 5, 2026. (DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Carson Croom)
The award represents a confluence of two Army goals: boosting its long-range firepower for modern battlefields and expanding the defense industrial base.
U.S. Marines with Intermediate Repair Company, 3rd Maintenance Battalion, 3rd Marine
Logistics Group, prepare to test print on-the-move capabilities during Valiant Shield 26 on Camp
Kinser, Okinawa, Japan, June 22, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rachel
Mason)
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)
Double exposure photograph of the Palantir artificial intelligence logo and of a computer binary code at Kerlouan in Brittany in France on May 14 2026. (Photo by Vincent Feuray / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images)
Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones positioned on the tarmac at a base in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. (Photo by CENTCOM Public Affairs).
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)
Director of Golden Dome for America (GDA) Gen. Mike Guetlein receives a briefing on the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system at a THAAD site in Dededo, Guam, July 16, 2026. Task Force Talon, composed of Soldiers from the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade and the Guam National Guard, operates the THAAD missile defense system to protect the U.S. territory in the Western Pacific. The site assessment directly supports the rapid development of GDA as a next-generation, layered defense capability designed to protect and shield the Homeland against advanced ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missile threats. (U.S. Navy photo by William J. Busby III)
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).
U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft tail 0194, assigned to the 445th Airlift Wing, sits on the flightline prior to taking off at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, July 30, 2026. Tail 0194 sustained extensive damage last year but was repaired by the 445th Maintenance Group in collaboration with the Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office and University of Dayton Research Institute to fabricate a nose panel using robotics technology to form sheet metal into a functional replacement part, the first of its kind produced, tested, and flown on an Air Force airframe. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Daniel Peterson)
The DF-17 hypersonic medium range conventional ballistic missile model was exhibited at the Hangzhou Innovation Research Institute of Beihang University in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China on May 10, 2026. (Photo credit: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Army ManTech, a member of the Joint Defense Manufacturing Technology Panel (JDMTP), exhibited innovative smart fabrics at the Pentagon, July 8, 2025. (DOD Photo by Rebecca War/DVIDS)
The Pentagon, headquarters for the United States Department of Defense, is seen on July 30, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
