A US soldier prepares an interception drone of the American MEROPS counter drone system to launch during tests at the Nowa Deba military training ground, south-eastern Poland, on November 18, 2025. (Photo by Wojtek RADWANSKI / AFP) (Photo by WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Joint Interagency Task Force 401 noted in its press release that these systems “are currently being employed by forces operating in U.S. Central Command.”
U.S. Army Maj. Steven McPherson, a joint doctrine team chief with the National Guard Bureau, looks at the interface of the Maven Smart System in Arlington, Virginia Feb. 20. McPherson was in a class to learn the MSS and its capability to process vast amounts of data from weather to troop locations. (U.S. Army Photo by Master Sgt. Whitney Hughes)
“We've handed our warfighters a Ferrari, and my only sleepless nights come from … making sure we never, ever run out of the high-octane fuel that they…
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.
Dan Caine presents an Operation Epic Fury
ceasefire timeline to members of the media
during a press briefing at the Pentagon in
Arlington, Virginia, May 5, 2026. The U.S.
military began supporting Operation Project
Freedom in the Strait of Hormuz on May 4.
(DoD photo by Benjamin Applebaum)
U.S. Navy Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, speaks with the crew on the 1MC during a visit to Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69). Cooper interacted with Sailors, recognized the ship’s top performers and toured various spaces. Milius is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operation to support maritime security and stability in the Middle East. (U.S. Navy photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Amanda Dunford)
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces began setting conditions for clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz, April 11, as two U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers conducted operations. (U.S. Central Command Photo)
A U.S. Air Force pilot enters data in a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft in the Central Command area of responsibility, March 3, 2026. (U.S. Air Force photo)
The U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, Adm. Kevin Lunday, attends the Association for Rescue at Sea award ceremony Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Carmen Caver)
The fiscal 2027 budget request calls for billions and billions more for the service. But amid the spring of subsidized hope, there is a cold-snap of congressional…
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (R) speaks alongside US CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper (L) during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, on April 16, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)
An Electronic Advanced Ground Launcher System (EAGLS) counter-UAS fires an Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) Hydra 70 rocket during an Exercise Sky Shield live-fire event in Kuwait, Dec. 4, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Joseph Kumzak)
Earlier this week, Joint Interagency Task Force 401 said it had committed more than $600 million in unmanned aerial system defenses for Operation Epic Fury and stateside…