U.S. Air Force Senior Airman John Ives, 90th Ground Combat Training Squadron defender, pilots 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. The drone carried balloon targets to help operators practice acquiring, tracking and engaging simulated aerial threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michael A. Richmond)
Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao boards Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) to observe Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) rigging and extrication training on Aug. 6, 2026. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class August Clawson)
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Zackary Cowher, Cyber Capabilities Developer Technician for Multi-Domain Command – Europe, uploads configuration files to an autonomous land-based vehicle equipped with a tethered UAS quadcopter during Arcane Thunder 26 at Fort Irwin, California, April 18, 2026. (Photo by Master Sgt. John Healy)
U.S. Air Force Airmen attach balloons to a drone during at Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center’s North Training Area, Wyoming, May 15, 2026. The balloons served as aerial targets, allowing defenders to simulate engagements against small unmanned aircraft systems. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michael A. Richmond)
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)
U.S. Army Capt. Alex Bayer, mechanized infantry company commander in the 4th Infantry Division, coordinates with her unit on a Next Generation Command and Control end-user device during Project Convergence-Capstone 6 (PC-C6) at Fort Irwin, California, July 24, 2026. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Nathan Arellano Tlaczani)
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)
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)
Army Pfc. Eric Searcy, an electronic warfare specialist assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division, searches for electronic signals using a Terrestrial Layered System Manpack (TLS Manpack) during a field training exercise at Fort Stewart, Georgia, April 19, 2026. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Rakeem Carter)
The officers recently served in advisory roles for the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, a Germany-based, U.S.-led organization founded after Russia’s invasion in 2022 that oversees support for Kyiv.