U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Feb. 13, 2025) Navy Diver 3rd class John Tichenor, attached to Commander, Task Group (CTG) 56.1, enters the water during a surface supplied dive as part of the International Maritime Exercise 25. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Thomas Brown/DVIDS)
220722-A-YK067-1035 MANAMA, Bahrain (July 22, 2022) Unmanned surface vessels sit as static displays, in Manama, Bahrain, July 22, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Terry Vongsouthi)
A student at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School in the Technical Exploitation Course processes a laptop computer during training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina October 22, 2019. (U.S. Army photo illustration by K. Kassens)
NAVAL BASE CORONADO (May 15, 2024) – Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC) operate remotely in San Diego Bay. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Claire M. DuBois)
The full Super Blue Moon is centered in the spires of the U.S. Air Force Memorial early in the morning on August 19, 2024, in Arlington, VA. (Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images)
Joe DiBenedetto, a civilian contractor aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) does flight pre-checks on a Mk. 4.7 Golf Aerosonde drone on the flight deck while operating in the Philippine Sea, March 30, 2024. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Hannah Fry)
NAVAL BASE SAN DIEGO (Feb. 5, 2024) The first four Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Crafts (GARCs) are delivered to Unmanned Surface Vessel Squadron 3 (USVRON 3). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Kelby Sanders)
A Ukrainian Armed Forces drone operator who gave the name Tarik, of the 148th Separate Artillery Brigade, prepares an American made Puma surveillance drone for a flight test to scout Russian targets and correct artillery fire against Russian positions on July 24, 2024, in the direction of Marinka, Ukraine. (Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
A Special Tactics Airman, assigned to the 24th Special Operations Wing, signals a plane to land at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico on March 1, 2024. Supported by U.S. Special Operations Command, Emerald Warrior is a joint special operations exercise that prepares U.S. Special Operations Command forces, Conventional Enablers, Partner Forces, and Interagency Elements to respond to various threats across the spectrum of conflict. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Senior Airman Natalie Vandergriff)
With focus now turned toward competition with China and Russia, special operations forces need to hone their ability to achieve “security through obscurity.”
Beijing is moving forward on its “comprehensive” UAV modernization efforts, as indicated by a number of increasingly modern systems designed for operations across theater and echelon levels,…