The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Mahan (DDG 72), left, and USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) sail in formation as an F/A-18 Super Hornet, assigned to Carrier Air Wing Eight embarked aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), descends on final approach to land on the aircraft carrier, Nov. 13, 2025. (Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Triniti Lersch)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Defense-industry partners assemble a cruise missile for a live-fire demonstration at the Africa Multidomain Training and Experimentation Center in Tan-Tan, Morocco, Aug. 5, 2026. The demonstration was held to support regional defense capabilities and joint training interoperability. AMTEC enables U.S. and Moroccan forces to test emerging technologies and expand testing capabilities to strengthen shared readiness and interoperability under the U.S. Army’s Test Range Expansion Initiative. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Raquel Birk) According to DVIDS, this photo was altered for security purposes by blurring out defense industry names and logos.
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)