East-Coast-based U.S. Naval Special Warfare Operators (SEALs) participate in a special operations forces exercise off the coast of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Nov. 3, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Bailey Wyman)
Focus areas include advanced analytics, mapping building infrastructure, novel energy sources, data communications and exfiltration, and edge device optimization.
The new assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict comes into the job as SOF are busy conducting high-profile ops and pursuing new capabilities.
A civilian guest of U.S. Army Special Operations Command takes cover behind a vehicle with a member of USASOC during a simulated mission on 7 April 2024, at Fort Bragg, NC. (U.S. Army photo by SSG Gavin Lewis)
Advancements in commercial vehicle tech “generate vast amounts of data and emit unique signatures,” according to a SOCOM notice, meaning adversaries could use these emissions to “track…
Derrick M. Anderson, nominee to be assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-Intensity conflict, arrives for his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Thursday, September 18, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images)
A Soldier assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) prepares his night vision lens prior to a weapons validation exercise at Fort Johnson, La., Apr. 26, 2025. (U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Oscar Reyes.)
U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the 91st and 96th Civil Affairs Battalions (Special Operations) (Airborne) receives a briefing about artificial intelligence model used during for a tabletop exercise as part of Atlas Lion at Fort Bragg, N.C. Oct. 27, 2025. The Atlas Lion Table-Top Exercise is an AI supported simulation designed to validate Civil Affairs Company’s core competencies in a digital training environment, ensuring readiness for real-world operations by validating their ability to effectively support civilian populations and local governance. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Natalia Hernandez)
U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Shay Burnett, an instructor with Advanced Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry – East, and a native of Texas, controls a Neros Archer small unmanned aircraft system during a kinetic first-person view drone range on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Sept. 12, 2025. The range was conducted to validate a scalable, repeatable methodology for enabling FPV strike operations and used as a reference to support cost-effective training and eventual kinetic employment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Zachariah Ferraro)
U.S. Air Force special tactics Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Airlift Wing conduct infil operations into the Caribbean Sea from a Mississippi Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk off the coast of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Aug. 28, 2025 as part of Emerald Warrior 25.2, a large-scale special operations exercise staged in multiple locations by Air Force Special Operations Command. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Dale Greer)
Colonel Isagani Criste, commander of the Philippine army’s First Scout Ranger Regiment, presents a gift to Vice Adm. Frank Bradley, Joint Special Operations Command commanding officer, during a key leader engagement in the Philippines, July 9, 2023. (Courtesy photo from DVIDS)
