Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital Announces $1.5 Billion Conditional Loan Commitment to Wolfspeed, Inc.

Oct. 7, 2026 |

The Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) announced today a $1.5 billion conditional loan commitment to Wolfspeed, Inc., a vertically integrated U.S. manufacturer of silicon carbide (SiC) wafers, SiC power devices, and gallium nitride (GaN)-on-SiC wafers. The proposed loan, combined with private capital, would help strengthen the U.S. supply chain for wide bandgap materials and power devices, which have critical military and commercial applications.

The contemplated financing builds on President Trump's mandate to accelerate the onshoring of semiconductor production and bolster the associated supply chain. SiC and GaN are advanced wide bandgap semiconductor materials used in next-generation power and radio frequency applications across defense, Super Intelligence (SI), critical infrastructure, and other strategically important areas.

"Securing U.S. military and economic superiority requires bold domestic investments in critical dual-use capabilities. By strengthening our nation's wide bandgap industrial base, the contemplated transaction would achieve important national security objectives while advancing U.S. supremacy in the SI era," said Peter B. Zuckerman, Senior Managing Director at OSC.

"OSC's proposed transaction directly aligns with President Donald J. Trump's strategy to enhance domestic semiconductor manufacturing by supporting the development and production of wide bandgap capabilities in the United States," said David A. Lorch, Director of the Office of Strategic Capital and Senior Advisor to Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg. "The contemplated investment advances U.S. military and economic security by helping build a secure, reliable domestic supply chain for SiC and GaN that benefits the Department of War, the U.S. defense industrial base, and the broader U.S. economy."

With this proposed strategic financing, OSC would help the company strengthen domestic access to wide bandgap materials and devices used in high-performance propulsion systems, directed energy weapons, drones, electronic warfare systems, radars, and missile defense systems. The financing would also help advance U.S. economic security as SiC and GaN are expected to play an increasingly important role in the SI revolution.

"The Office of Strategic Capital is advancing President Trump's priority of supporting the domestic semiconductor supply chain to achieve American dominance in the era of Super Intelligence," said Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering.

The conditional loan commitment specifies additional steps Wolfspeed must complete before financial close, including satisfying various financial, legal, technical, investment, and due diligence requirements.

Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital Signs $150 Million Conditional Loan Commitment With PsiQuantum

Oct. 8, 2026 |

The Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) announced today a $150 million conditional loan commitment to PsiQuantum, Corp. to enhance the company's advanced manufacturing and prototyping capabilities in the United States. Building on OSC's ongoing collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)'s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, the proposed loan follows recently awarded funding agreements with DARPA and CHIPS and supports PsiQuantum's novel photonic approach to developing the world's first commercially useful fault-tolerant quantum computer (FTQC). 

The potential financing executes on President Donald J. Trump's mandate to drive and sustain U.S. leadership in the strategically important field of quantum information science and technology. Quantum computing is now regarded, alongside Super Intelligence (SI) and semiconductors, as a foundational technology for future economic and military advantage.  

"OSC's proposed transaction with PsiQuantum directly aligns with President Donald J. Trump's mandate to accelerate development and commercialization of quantum computing. Quantum computing will provide transformational capabilities, and the Department of War's investment into PsiQuantum serves the mission of securing U.S. leadership in quantum computing in full alignment with Department of War objectives set forth by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth," said David A. Lorch, Director of the Office of Strategic Capital and Senior Advisor to Deputy Secretary of War Steve Feinberg. 

"Funding the development of fault-tolerant quantum computing is a national security imperative,"added Peter B. Zuckerman, Senior Managing Director at OSC. "We must scale this critical technology to secure our technological edge and deny adversaries a decisive strategic advantage."

"I applaud OSC for this strategic collaboration with DARPA and CHIPS, which demonstrates how the Department of War is moving at breakneck speed to meet President Trump's directive that the United States must lead in quantum. Quantum computing will shape the future of warfare and fundamentally change how the Joint Force solves its most complex operational challenges," said Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering. 

The conditional loan commitment between OSC and PsiQuantum specifies customary additional steps the company must take to proceed toward financial close, including satisfying financial, legal, technical, due diligence, and other requirements.

Trump, Hegseth Announce New Maryland Shipyard

Oct. 6, 2026 | By C. Todd Lopez, Pentagon News |

President Donald J. Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth today announced the development of a new shipyard, to be called "Arsenal-2," during a ceremony at the future site in Sparrows Point, Maryland.

The project will include a $6.6 billion investment from the Navy and Anduril Industries, which will build and operate the site. 

The shipyard is expected to be the largest of its kind in the United States and will be designed to produce submarines, submarine components and autonomous underwater vessels.

"Today, we're officially launching the construction of the largest new shipyard in the United States," Trump said while speaking in front of the USS Billings. "Since World War II, there's been nothing like what we're doing today."

The new shipyard, made possible by both private and public investment, will provide great value to Baltimore, the president said, especially with the number of jobs it brings.

"In a tremendous victory for our country and for the city of Baltimore, Anduril is investing $3.7 billion dollars in a state-of-the-art shipyard that will be known forever as Arsenal-2," Trump said.

The president said the shipyard will build next-generation American submarines on the site, including autonomous submarines, torpedo tubes, and critical components for the Virginia-class attack submarines. The Navy is also contributing $2.9 billion to help develop the shipyard.

"This massive project will create over 3,100 new jobs right here in Maryland and will support an additional 11,000 jobs across the nation," he said.

The president said workers at Sparrows Point will lead the way into a "golden age of shipbuilding" for the United States.

"When you come back [here] in two years, you're not going to believe what you see," he said. "Generations ago, these grounds hummed with the sound of hammers and saws carving out some of the most beautiful wooden ships. ... Now, with the men and women of Anduril, the workers of Maryland, and the warriors of the U.S. Navy ... this place will roar with the sound of high-tech manufacturing, building ships and submarines. "

Hegseth said the new shipyard will be an integral part of the arsenal of freedom initiative to rebuild the U.S. military industrial base.

"In order to make America great again, you need to make your Navy great again," Hegseth said. "You need to make shipbuilding great again, our manufacturing great again, our defense industrial base strong and robust again."

The secretary said the president has been consistent since his first day in office about what is needed from the military, and that he has worked to make that happen.

"From day one, President Trump has demanded from the War Department speed, scale and urgency to build an arsenal of freedom befitting our warriors and considering the threats of the 21st century," he said. "That's why today we're here to proudly announce construction of the largest U.S. shipyard since World War II."

In the shipyard, the president said, industrial workers of Baltimore will contribute to that arsenal of freedom for decades to come.

"With American hands, American heart and American grit, we will build the future of America's Navy right here in Baltimore, and it will be a future of peace through strength," Trump said. 

Systems Selected for JIATF 401 Directed-Energy Counter-Drone Pilot Program

Oct. 5, 2026 |

The Department of War announced the directed-energy systems selected following the Joint Interagency Task Force 401's (JIATF-401) counter-unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) directed energy pilot program, marking the next phase of efforts to expand the operational use of high-energy laser (HEL) and high-powered microwave (HPM) capabilities across the homeland.

Systems selected for the pilot include:

• AeroVironment Palletized High-Energy Laser system
• Epirus Leonidas High-Powered Microwave system
• Kord Firefly High-Energy Laser system
• Boeing Compact Laser Weapon system

"High-energy lasers and high-powered microwave systems are tools that can be effectively used in a layered drone defense," said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, director of JIATF 401. "This pilot program will test these capabilities in an operational environment so we can understand how best to integrate and sustain them to defend the homeland."

Directed by the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, the pilot will evaluate these systems' performance providing real-time data and feedback on the systems' requirements, costs, and best practices.

JIATF-401 is conducting this pilot program in close coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), U.S. Northern Command and the Services. Earlier this year, JIATF-401 partnered with the FAA to conduct a safety risk assessment during a live-fire HEL demonstration at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. As a result of this testing, the FAA determined that the system posed minimal risk to the National Airspace System and established a framework for continued coordination.

"There is no silver bullet, or one size fits all solution to countering the threat of drones," Ross said. "Directed energy gives commanders another option within a layered defense, complementing existing counter-UAS capabilities with a scalable, safe, and effective way to respond to drone threats. This pilot program will give us vital information in a real-world environment so we can employ these systems to protect the homeland."

While these systems represent the first capabilities selected for the pilot program, the DoW and JIATF-401 will continue to evaluate additional directed-energy technologies. In December, the Department will host a directed-energy shoot-off at Dugway Proving Ground to assess additional high-energy laser and high-powered microwave systems to identify promising capabilities for future operational use.

DoW and U.S. Navy Announce Contract With Raytheon to Accelerate Standard Missile-6 Production

Oct. 1, 2026 |

Today, the Department of War announces a U.S. Navy award of $24.4 billion to Raytheon, an RTX business, to accelerate production of the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6), a critical anti-air and anti-surface warfare munition. This five-year agreement, with two additional option years, will drive faster production, increase manufacturing throughput, and deliver significant cost savings across the defense industrial base.

"Our mission is to ensure our warfighters never enter a fair fight," said Michael P. Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment. "This multi-year award locks in the magazine depth and lethal dominance our forces need to prevail, while demanding our industrial base produce at war-speed."

This agreement, coupled with the recent Tomahawk weapon system award, provides the defense industry with the long-term predictability needed to expand workforce capacity and secure critical supply chains. Together, these strategic investments ensure our warfighters remain equipped with the advanced capabilities required to maintain global maritime superiority.

About the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment:
The Office of the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment (A&S) equips the Joint Force and Allies with secure, resilient, and decisive capabilities. Driven by an unwavering commitment to the warfighter, A&S executes a portfolio-driven strategy to field advanced technologies at speed and scale. By accelerating acquisition and modernizing critical infrastructure, A&S is actively rebuilding the Arsenal of Freedom and securing our nation's enduring military advantage against any pacing threat.

Department of War's Critical Technologies Office Partners With In-Q-Tel to Accelerate Technology From Non-Traditional Performers to the Warfighter

Oct. 2, 2026 |

The Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (R&E), through the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Critical Technologies (CT), has announced an agreement to partner with the Central Intelligence Agency and In-Q-Tel (IQT), a not-for-profit strategic investor that has served the national security community since 1999.

The partnership gives the Department's research and engineering enterprise structured access to IQT's global technology-scouting platform and its portfolio of early-stage companies, with the explicit objective of compressing the timeline to transition and rapidly field mature commercial solutions from non-traditional performers to the warfighter.

The Department of War has mandated six Critical Technology Areas (CTAs) as the focus of its investment and transition efforts: Applied Artificial Intelligence, Biomanufacturing, Contested Logistics Technologies, Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance, Scaled Directed Energy, and Scaled Hypersonics. Under the agreement, IQT will conduct technology scouting and technical due diligence across all six CTAs, as well as across enabling technology areas, while the Department identifies transition sponsors and pathways for validated technologies.

"In a contested global threat environment, technological superiority will not be determined by who invents a capability first, but by who delivers it to the warfighter fastest. The Department is fundamentally shifting its posture: we are moving from acting solely as a long-cycle technology developer to operating as an agile, credible, and rapid customer for America's most innovative non-traditional performers. Our partnership with In-Q-Tel eliminates bureaucratic friction across our six CTAs. Over the next 12 months, our benchmark for success is simple and unambiguous: moving validated commercial prototypes out of the lab and into active operational field evaluations with our combatant commands," said Hon. Michael Dodd, Assistant Secretary of War for Critical Technologies.

The integration leverages In-Q-Tel's proven venture capital methodology to vet early-stage commercial solutions that align directly with the Department's urgent mission requirements. By combining CT's strategic transition pathways with IQT's deep-tech scouting infrastructure, the partnership aims to significantly de-risk the integration of commercial hardware and software for national security applications, signaling to the commercial tech sector that the Department of War is open for business.

Joint pilot programs under this new partnership will begin in the coming weeks, targeting immediate battlefield bottlenecks. By aligning IQT's venture ecosystem with the Department's rapid transition pipelines, both organizations aim to establish a permanent bridge that converts commercial ingenuity into deployed military capability at the speed of relevance.

Department of War Champions 'Brilliant at the Basics' for Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Oct. 1, 2026 |

Arming warfighters, workforce, and industry partners with actionable cyber defense practices to strengthen security posture and safeguard the mission.

The Office of the Chief Information Officer today launched the Department of War's "Brilliant at the Basics" campaign for Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The monthlong initiative reinforces core cybersecurity fundamentals across both Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) environments to provide best practices for navigating an evolving threat landscape while maintaining a decisive digital edge.

"Cybersecurity starts with the basics," said Honorable Kirsten Davies, Department of War chief information officer. "This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we are sharing foundational, actionable steps for our warfighters, civilian workforce, and defense industrial base partners to protect our technology ecosystem, both IT and OT. As we pursue innovative technologies, and reintegrate our industrial base, we must also maintain strong cyber fundamentals that protect our people, systems, and mission. Being 'Brilliant at the Basics' is not just a slogan; it is a mission imperative."

The campaign will deliver daily posts, actionable tips, and practical resources structured across four weekly themes:

• Be Aware: Understand digital environments and identify vulnerabilities across connected IT networks, OT infrastructure, and government-furnished equipment.
• Be Vigilant: Practice proactive security measures including strong authentication, credential hygiene, and anti-phishing tactics to reduce cyber risk.
• Be Secure: Protect mission-critical data and systems by reducing internet-facing systems, encrypting connections, patching, and ensuring only authorized equipment connects to defense networks. 
• Be Connected: Champion a culture of collective defense by promptly reporting suspicious cyber activity and promptly responding to cyber tasking orders.

Recognizing that small, medium, and nontraditional businesses drive critical innovation for our warfighters, the campaign provides tailored guidance and accessible resources directly to DIB partners. The initiative will also spotlight low-cost and no-cost cybersecurity support programs that align with the IT and OT best practices issued by the Department in July 2026 to support the hardening of the Department's broader industrial base.

For more information, daily campaign updates and event schedules, follow the official DoW CIO social media channels and the CIO's website at dowcio.war.gov.