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)
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)
President Donald Trump speaks with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit at U.S. Army War College on July 15, 2026 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
U.S. military medical personnel conduct training exercises at the medical facility in Camp Bondsteel, operated by U.S. troops on October 14, 2025 in Ferizaj, Kosovo. (Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images)
The stakes are especially high because the future of U.S. military capability will depend heavily on technologies developed outside the traditional defense industry.
A team of Department of Defense drone operators and experts test the technical capabilities of various Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) during a Defense Innovation Unit led prize challenge to identify platforms, components, and capabilities for Blue UAS, which clears and validates flying platforms are safe to fly, cyber-secure, and meet DOD requirements, at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, on Nov. 2-6, 2024. (DOD photo by Devon Bistarkey, Defense Innovation Unit)
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth looks on during a meeting with President of the Philippines Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos at the Pentagon in Washington, DC on July 21, 2025. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
The order comes after an eye-opening investigation revealed Microsoft had been relying on China-based engineers to support DOD cloud computing systems.
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 12: U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan attends the daily press briefing at the White House on March 12, 2024 in Washington, DC. Sullivan spoke on the need to continue support for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia and answered questions on the Israel-Hamas war. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
President Biden’s top National Security Advisor briefed a small group of defense reporters at the White House on the lessons he hopes to pass on to the…
After supply chain woes delayed the launch of the Space Development Agency's Tranche 1 satellites, SDA and the space industrial base are working to mitigate risks in…