Securing Global Dominance: DoW Unleashes Quantum Defense Strategy to Harden Networks and Empower the Joint Force

June 23, 2026 |

The Department of War (DoW) Chief Information Officer, Honorable Kirsten Davies, today announced the release of the DoW Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC) Strategy. This comprehensive, forward-looking plan addresses the urgent need to secure the Department's communications, data, and command and control systems against the emerging threats posed by future quantum computing capabilities.

The Department of War is driving a rapid, enterprise-wide transition to deploy quantum-resistant cryptography on high-impact systems by 2030 and across the entire force by 2031. This aggressive rollout directly aligns with President Donald J. Trump's Executive Order 14409 "Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks", placing the DoW at the forefront of the national mandate to protect our highest-value systems. By accelerating this migration now, the DoW is actively neutralizing quantum threats — preventing adversaries from accessing sensitive data, compromising the integrity of systems, or impersonating warfighters.

"Empowering the warfighter is the relentless objective that drives every program," said Hon. Davies. "To deliver on Secretary Hegseth's vision of the most lethal and dominant military force in the world, our networks must be impenetrable. This strategy secures our tactical edge and the safety of our satellite communications and command systems (SATCOM). It builds the interoperability required to rapidly upgrade our cryptography today while ensuring we can adapt at the speed of innovation to counter the threats of tomorrow."

The strategy prioritizes strengthening industry collaboration to drive efficiency across the enterprise. A key element of this is preparing the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) — the engine of the Secretary of War's "Arsenal of Freedom"— for upcoming Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) cryptographic compliance. This proactive partnership includes new approaches to accelerate the integration of commercial-off-the-shelf PQC-enabled solutions, ensuring a unified and resilient defense posture while reducing costs to the nation by streamlining testing.

"As we execute this critical modernization, we remain uncompromisingly focused on delivering value for the American people," added Davies. "We are answering the President's call by establishing centralized governance—ensuring we leverage our buying power, eliminate waste, and secure the best possible value for every taxpayer dollar while moving at speed of innovation."

To execute this complex enterprise-wide transition, the strategy maps out five clear, interconnected Lines of Effort:

1. PQC Governance and Integration: Establishing a centralized oversight structure to streamline acquisition and ensure fiscal accountability.

2. Cryptographic Inventory and Planning: Launching an aggressive campaign to scan for vulnerable systems and coordinate migration roadmaps.

3. Technology Acceleration: Developing, testing, and maturing PQC solutions for unique defense needs while collaborating with standards bodies and industry to advance baseline capabilities.

4. Industry Partnership and Enablement: Lowering barriers for commercial partners through initiatives like the "Preparing for Migration to PQC" memo, which enables the rapid intake and adoption of PQC-enabled industry solutions.

5. PQC Migration and Fielding: Physically deploying quantum-resistance across all warfighting domains to secure our systems without slowing mission operations.

With these robust foundations, we will accelerate ahead of the timelines set by Executive Order 14409. This strategy stands as a critical milestone in our mission to forge resilient partnerships and institute a new paradigm for cybersecurity, ensuring that the United States maintains its technological and strategic advantage for decades to come.

The DoW Post-Quantum Cryptography Strategy is available here: https://dowcio.war.gov/Portals/0/Documents/Library/DoW-PQC-Strategy.pdf

Office of Strategic Capital Signs $500 Million Conditional Loan Commitment With Phoenix Tailings

June 16, 2026 |

The United States Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) announced today a $500 million conditional loan commitment with Phoenix Tailings, Inc. to scale the company's domestic processing of rare earth elements. Together, the OSC investment and additional private capital are intended to provide approximately $1 billion to support a significant expansion of critical metal production at existing facilities and a new, state-of-the-art, U.S.-based rare earth separation and metallization facility.

This partnership with OSC marks Phoenix Tailings' next stage of growth, positioning the company at the center of an important national security priority focused on building a resilient, domestic supply chain for rare earths. Phoenix Tailings specializes in rare earth separation and metallization, a highly technical midstream process that bridges the critical gap between raw extraction and permanent magnet production. The company's increased production will directly support permanent magnet facilities across the broader U.S. industrial base and improve supply chains for other specialty defense and industrial products.

"Supporting domestic processing for critical minerals and rare earths is a key focus for OSC, and the rare earth midstream processing capabilities that Phoenix Tailings represents are key shortage areas that need to be rapidly addressed. We are pleased to support Phoenix Tailings in building the company's Freedom Facility, which will represent an important step in strengthening the full mine-to-magnet supply chain 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 company currently operates two metallization facilities located in Burlington, Massachusetts, and Exeter, New Hampshire. The conditional loan commitment between OSC and Phoenix Tailings specifies customary additional steps that the company must take to proceed toward financial close on the loan, including fulfilling financial, legal, technical and other due diligence requirements.

"I applaud the Office of Strategic Capital on this important conditional investment, which advances the reshoring of rare earth supply chains and strengthens the might of America's defense industrial base. The focused, unified effort and support from Secretary Hegseth and Deputy Secretary Feinberg have been crucial in addressing supply chain shortages and vulnerabilities in the defense industrial base," said the Honorable Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering.

Camp Lejeune Modernizes Tactical Driving With High-Tech Realism

June 18, 2026 | By Marine Corps Cpl. Jessica Mazzamuto, Marine Corps Installations East |

The Marine Corps is taking a leap forward in tactical vehicle training, trading unnecessary wear and tear for high-tech, immersive realism at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. With the introduction of the multiplatform driver simulator, Marines are now able to push the limits of the joint light tactical vehicle without assuming any physical risk.

According to Shannon Ohlinger, the multiplatform driver simulator, or MPDS, training lead and a Marine Corps veteran, the shift in technology is monumental. The new system is designed to build confidence and critical thinking skills more quickly while addressing the challenges of fuel costs and vehicle maintenance.

"The operator driving simulator used prior to the MPDS was all over the place with training," Ohlinger said. "This entire system is much more advanced than the ODS, and it still has the mobility to mimic the movement of the actual vehicle over different types of terrain."

The MPDS is broken into three distinct parts: the cab itself, made with authentic industry parts; the situation screen for viewing analytics and a third-person perspective; and the instructor workstation. While not replacing the actual physical training Marines get in a live joint light tactical vehicle or medium tactical vehicle replacement, it provides a seamless transition from the classroom to the dirt.

"Everything inside the simulator is an exact copy of what you would see in a real live [joint light tactical vehicle]," Ohlinger explained. "From the switches and functionality to the smart user interface, startup procedures and pre-op checks, everything is a one-for-one match."

Where the MPDS truly outperforms previous training methods is at the instructor workstation. From this console, instructors can manipulate the environment in real time, testing a driver's ability to adapt to sudden, catastrophic changes.

"Through the instructor workstation, I have the ability to throw obstacles at them. I can add rain and thunderstorms, and you will see puddles form and the mud get slick," Ohlinger said. "You're going to start having slippage to where operators need to use their [central tire inflation system] and anything else you would need to incorporate in order to adapt."

Instructors can tailor scenarios to specific unit needs, whether that means deploying a sudden blizzard, initiating low-visibility night driving or triggering dash warnings like low tire pressure or low battery voltage. The goal is to safely overwhelm the driver in a controlled environment, without risking a vehicle roll or a Marine getting hurt.

For Ohlinger, this capability hits close to home. Having driven more than 3,100 miles in Afghanistan, he understands the stakes of tactical driving.

"As a prior enlisted Marine, I can confidently say that if I had training like this, there are situations I experienced that I wouldn't have ever found myself in," he said. "Marines adapt and overcome when they face the unknown, but the MPDS gives them the critical thinking and experience they need ahead of time."

Ultimately, the Marine Corps modernization efforts are about keeping warfighters lethal and safe. The MPDS ensures that by the time a Marine gets behind the wheel of a real joint light tactical vehicle, they have already survived the worst conditions their instructors could throw at them.

"Being in this position gives me the opportunity to help mitigate the accidents that lead to losing service members," Ohlinger said. "I know if I save one life, I have done my job."

Naval Research Laboratory Receives Space Force Antenna, Expanding Joint Space Capabilities

June 12, 2026 | By Nicholas E. M. Pasquini, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory |

Earlier this year, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory received a transportable satellite tracking antenna system from Space Systems Command's System Delta 81 to expand joint space testing, training and operational support capabilities at the laboratory's Blossom Point Tracking Facility in Welcome, Maryland. 

 
The antenna system enhances the facility's ability to support tracking, telemetry and command operations for emerging space technologies and future operational concepts. The capability will provide additional flexibility for experimentation, system evaluation and long-duration performance monitoring, supporting both naval and joint space missions. 
 
Blossom Point Tracking Facility has long supported satellite command and control, communications experimentation and orbital research. Integrating the transportable system into the site's existing infrastructure increases the facility's capacity to support multiband communications testing, interoperability assessments and advanced space experimentation. Analysis is underway to determine future experiments, exercises and operational events the system may support, as well as potential deployment locations to maximize mission utility. 
 
The transfer supports broader War Department efforts to strengthen joint testing and training infrastructure and improve collaboration across the naval and space communities. The system also supports System Delta 81's mission to develop and field capabilities that enable realistic test and training environments for the Space Force. 

 
The effort reflects ongoing collaboration between Space Systems Command, System Delta 81 and the Naval Research Laboratory to improve operational readiness, expand flexible testing capability and accelerate the integration of emerging space systems into joint mission environments. The addition of the antenna provides increased access to stable, repeatable testing environments that support the evaluation of critical space-enabled capabilities for future operations. 
 
The laboratory is the Navy and Marine Corps' corporate laboratory, conducting a broad program of scientific research, technology development and advanced experimentation to support operational forces and maintain the nation's technological advantage at sea, on land, in the air and in space. 

Army Astronaut Selected for NASA's Historic Artemis III Mission

June 10, 2026 | By Ronald Bailey, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command |

In a historic announcement that bridges the legacy of military service with the next phase of human space exploration, NASA announced that Army Col. Frank Rubio, assigned to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, will serve as a mission specialist on its upcoming Artemis III mission. The announcement, made yesterday at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, places a soldier at the forefront of humanity's return to the lunar surface.

Rubio will join NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik and Andre Douglas, as well as European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, as they embark on a mission that will serve as a low-Earth orbit demonstration to test systems required for operations in the region between Earth and the moon's orbit. 

Rubio's selection is a testament to his recognized leadership, broad career experience and the technical expertise that soldiers bring to the nation's human spaceflight program.

"I am deeply honored to be selected for Artemis III, a mission that continues to build upon the foundation for the day Americans return to the surface of the moon," Rubio said. "My Army training has been an integral part of the experiences that have enabled me to be ready for this mission. Serving taught me to lead under pressure, how to stay calm when the stakes are highest, and how to put the mission and the people beside you above yourself." 

"To those who have served, and to every soldier and military family serving right now: you are the backbone of everything we do as a nation, including this," he continued. "I am honored to represent the Army on the highest ground."

Rubio is no stranger to making history in orbit. He holds the American record for the longest single spaceflight, having spent 371 consecutive days aboard the International Space Station during Expeditions 68 and 69 from September 2022 to September 2023.

During that unexpectedly extended spaceflight, Rubio completed 5,963 orbits of the Earth, traveled more than 157 million miles and conducted three spacewalks totaling 21 hours and 24 minutes. This extensive previous spaceflight experience, marked by deep resilience and adaptability, makes him uniquely qualified to serve under the demanding conditions that will be expected of him and the other Artemis III crewmembers.

Before his selection by NASA in 2017 as a member of Astronaut Class 22, Rubio built a distinguished 19-year military career as both an Army aviator and physician. A 1998 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he was a member of the Black Knights parachute team, Rubio served as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter pilot. He flew more than 1,100 hours, including more than 600 hours of combat and imminent danger time during deployments to Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Following his service in the aviation branch, Rubio earned his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 2010. As a board-certified family physician and flight surgeon, he completed his residency at Fort Benning, Georgia, and subsequently served as a clinic supervisor at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. Rubio was stationed as a battalion surgeon assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, Colorado, at the time of his astronaut selection.

Rubio's selection highlights the critical contributions of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command NASA Detachment, located at the Johnson Space Center. The detachment bolsters NASA's human spaceflight program by providing active-duty soldiers and space operations officers who deliver leadership, technical expertise and risk management skills. 

Alongside Rubio, the detachment currently includes Army Col. Anne McClain, a veteran astronaut and detachment commander; Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joseph Bailey, who in 2025 became the first Army warrant officer selected as an astronaut candidate; and two Army space operations officers and administrative personnel.

Since 1978, a select group of 20 Army astronauts and payload specialists have served at NASA. These Army astronauts and space operations officers not only provide vital human-machine interface and engineering expertise to NASA's operations, but they also bring back invaluable experience and information from NASA and aerospace industry partners to the Army.

"Congratulations to Col. Frank Rubio on his selection for the Artemis III mission," said Army Lt. Gen. John Rafferty, commanding general of U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. "His selection is a testament to his leadership, physical and mental toughness, and technical capability. The U.S. Army celebrates this milestone, and we at U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command are incredibly proud of him and the Army astronaut program."

According to NASA, Artemis III's primary objectives for its mid-2027 flight are to test and validate commercial human landing systems. The mission will focus on critical docking operations between the Orion spacecraft and these landing systems. It will also be an opportunity for NASA to conduct the first operational tests of new space suits in orbit.

NASA officials further stated Artemis III's flight will provide the flight experience and standardized vehicle configurations necessary to support subsequent operations. Data gathered from the orbit demonstration will directly clear the path for future crewed landings on the moon and eventual human missions to Mars.

War Department Signs $9.7B Technology Deal With Dell for Microsoft Services

May 28, 2026 | By C. Todd Lopez, Pentagon News |

The War Department announced today a five-year agreement to purchase Microsoft Services — a move expected to save the department $422 million annually. 

"The Department of War is taking a definitive step forward to advance our digital infrastructure to deter near-peer adversaries by awarding a five-year, $9.7 billion Core Enterprise Technology Agreement to Dell Federal Systems," said Kirsten A. Davies, DOW chief information officer. "This second-generation blanket purchase agreement will streamline and consolidate critical Microsoft software and services across the Department of War, the intelligence community and the U.S. Coast Guard." 

The agreement provides the department with access to Microsoft 365, advanced cloud subscriptions and critical on-premises licensing; it's the department's largest to date. 

"This CETA acts as part of the digital connective tissue essential for Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control ... this ensures our warfighters have the tools for just-in-time data sharing, supports our pivot to [artificial intelligence] and data analytics, and undergirds uninterrupted operational continuity for our most sensitive and disconnected environments," Davies said. 

Previously, across the department, dozens of separate contracts provided services to the same groups who will now receive the services under a single enterprisewide contract. The consolidation of contracts ensures service members and department civilians continue to have access to the same services, but now those services will cost less and save taxpayer dollars. 

"This enterprise approach is not just about capability, it's also about delivering on [Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's] promise to be responsible stewards of the American people's resources — taxpayer money," Davies said, noting that the new agreement is not new funding. 

Because the new contract and old contracts are with the same vendor, the funding does not change; the transition will be seamless for those involved. 

"We are achieving unprecedented scale and cost efficiency," Davies said. "This blanket purchase agreement is expected to save the department an initial $422 million annually, a figure we actually expect to rise as we fully consolidate our IT services." 

The new contract also allows warfighters to focus on what matters, she said. 

"This puts the tools in a warfighter's hands, where they need them," Davies said. "They don't need to worry about an enterprise software capability — they can worry about warfighting. They can focus on the mission, and we focus on the tools to support them in the mission." 

The agreement is scheduled to begin June 1 and includes Microsoft products such as Windows Enterprise Operating System and Office Professional Plus, along with cloud and hybrid capabilities. It also provides the digital foundation for Combined Joint All-Domain Combined Command and Control, the overarching concept to link sensors, weapons and decision-makers, as well as seamlessly share data across the armed forces and with coalition partners.

Department of War Publishes Second Release of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Files on WAR.GOV/UFO

May 22, 2026 |

Statement Attributable to Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs and Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell: 

Today, the Department of War is publishing the second release of declassified and historical Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) files as part of the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE). The collection continues to be housed on WAR.GOV/UFO, and additional files will be released on a rolling basis.

Since the site's launch on May 8, 2026, WAR.GOV/UFO has received over 1 billion hits worldwide, highlighting the unprecedented levels of interest in both this topic and the Trump administration's historic transparency effort. The Department of War and our agency partners are actively working on the third release of UAP files, which will be announced in the near future.

Defeating the Swarm: Project Flytrap Accelerates NATO's Counter-Drone Lethality

May 19, 2026 | By Army Sgt. Max Elliott, U.S. Army V Corps |

Above the pine forest of the Pabradė Training Area, Lithuania, roughly 30 kilometers from the Belarusian border, a small quadcopter rises into a sky shared with dozens of other drones. Friendly and adversary, sensor and strike, American and British. Below it, soldiers are learning, in real time, what it takes to fight as a squadron in three dimensions.

"Right now, we are implementing these systems at the troop level, company level and squadron level," said Army Staff Sgt. Mateus Nunes, an infantryman assigned to Echo Troop, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment. "We are just seeing how they work."

This is Project Flytrap 5.0, a U.S. Army V Corps counter-unmanned aerial systems initiative that, over the past year, has scaled from the individual soldier to the squadron level against the same low-cost drones reshaping the modern battlefield.

The exercise, which began April 30 and ended today, is part of Saber Strike 26. The exercise puts the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, in the lead, with the 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade and the United Kingdom's 3rd Parachute Regiment integrating and testing more than 50 industry-provided technologies, including radars, radio frequency defeat systems, kinetic interceptors, launched effects and unmanned ground vehicles. The systems were networked across a combined U.S.-U.K. tactical data architecture and tested against a live opposing force.

The program's arc has been deliberate. Iterations 2.0 through 4.0, carried out in Germany and Poland between May and August 2025, tested which counter-UAS equipment belonged at which echelons and developed and standardized initial small-unit level tactics for fighting drones. Flytrap 4.5 at Putlos, Germany, last November, tested the next generation of industry technology and sharpened individual operator proficiency. Now, Flytrap 5.0 is the first to integrate these systems at a squadron scale.

"We are transforming to enable offensive maneuver in a drone and electronic-warfare saturated environment, and Flytrap is essential to making that happen," said Army Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. "This effort is about getting technology into the hands of soldiers, in the field, to figure out what works and what doesn't. Then we share those lessons across the Army, the joint force and with our allies."

Flytrap 5.0 is formally nested inside the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative, NATO's warfighting concept in the land domain. EFDI links digital architecture and operating systems across nations to detect and decide faster, leveraging artificial intelligence to process data faster, to connect units and effects to strike faster and at scale. It also means reducing the cost curve in defeating drones and incorporating cheaper attritable systems. 

"Success in Flytrap 5.0 is a little different than other exercises — in some ways failure is still success," said Army Maj. Jared Whitaker, the V Corps technical integration and assessment lead for Project Flytrap. "The industry [that] creates these systems can get immediate feedback, make hardware and technical changes rapidly — so that when those systems are fielded to soldiers, they've already got a look by soldiers and will perform significantly better than in the past." 

Flytrap 6.0 will take the program to the brigade level. That is an order of magnitude for more platforms, soldiers and decisions, and at the level at which V Corps intends to fully validate the capability. Until then, the pine forest at Pabradė is the proving ground.

Department of War Invests $191M to Expand and Enhance the Solid Rocket Motor Industrial Base

May 15, 2026 |

The DoW announced today the latest in a series of investments in the solid rocket motor industrial base: an April 20, 2026, investment of $27.3 million in DPA Title III funds to Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Company (PacSci EMC), in Chandler, Arizona. It supports DoW's objectives to expand the munitions industrial base, bolster supply chain resiliency, and increase domestic production in strategic priority areas.  

"The DoW is focused on rapidly expanding and accelerating munitions production, driving a surge in demand for SRMs," said Michael Duffey, the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment. "Strengthening supply chains through smart investments will help alleviate SRM shortfalls by increasing capacity and reducing manufacturing lead times for key components."

Since December 2024, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy (OASW(IBP)) has made nine investments in the solid rocket motor (SRM) industrial base under a recent Defense Industrial Base Consortium Other Transaction Agreement (DIBC OTA) solicitation totaling $191 million in Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III funds. 

PacSci EMC will use their investment funds to expand the production of the universal Arm Fire Device (AFD), a critical safety component in SRM applications, by scaling up proven production capabilities to serve high-volume manufacturing needs for SRM programs. The company will create a fully integrated manufacturing facility that houses all necessary production and support processes, thereby enhancing operational efficiency, reducing potential errors, and streamlining delivery systems.

The prior SRM investments made under the same DIBC OTA solicitation include: 

• A $5 million investment in Systima Technologies Inc., part of Karman Space & Defense, to increase SRM nozzle production capacity.
• A $27.7 million investment in R.E. Darling Co., Inc. to establish expanded capacity and a modernized manufacturing capability for SRM case insulation materials.
• A $12.6 million investment in Americarb Inc. to develop a solution for converting woven rayon fabric into carbonized rayon phenolic, a crucial polymeric ablative material utilized for insulating rocket nozzles in SRMs.
• A $20.9 million investment in General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems to increase SRM nozzle production capacity and capability, becoming a new supplier for composite rocket nozzles and insulators. 
• A $5.1 million investment in SPARC Research LLC to establish a dedicated and affordable supply of rocket motor components for the SRM industrial base, supporting improvements to high-performance propulsion systems.  
• A $9.3 million investment in ICF Mercantile LLC to establish the first domestic production source of rayon filament cellulose precursor rayon, which will in turn support the production of Carbon Phenolic Ablatives used in SRM and Re-Entry Body heatshields.
• A $25.2 million investment in Materials Resources LLC to demonstrate SRM prototype production capability that will provide the Department with agile production of SRM metallic cases via additive manufacturing using MRL's scalable manufacturing cells.
• A $58 million investment in Anduril Industries, Inc. to modernize and expand its SRM production by modifying existing production facilities and improving the manufacturing processes by which it produces SRMs.

The new investment in PacSci EMC is one of five investments made by the DPA Purchases Office totaling $482.6 million since the beginning of fiscal year 2026. The Warfighting Investment, Resourcing, and Execution (WIRE) Directorate oversees DPA Purchases. For more information on the WIRE Directorate, please visit: https://www.businessdefense.gov/ibr/wire.html.

About the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy (OASW(IBP))

The OASW(IBP) works with domestic and international partners to forge and sustain a robust, secure, and resilient industrial base enabling the Warfighter, now and in the future. OASW(IBP) also uses a Defense Industrial Base Consortium Other Transaction Agreement (DIBC OTA) to solicit new ideas for research or prototype project solutions for critical supply chain resiliency focus areas.  This OTA underscores the Department's ongoing dedication to safeguarding the integrity of our crucial supply chain and promptly giving our Warfighters the materials and technologies they need to accomplish their missions. To learn more about the DIBC OTA, please visit: https://www.dibconsortium.org.

Combined Space Operations Initiative Principals' Board Meets to Advance Combined Operations Efforts

May 12, 2026 |

The Combined Space Operations (CSpO) Initiative Principals' Board convened on April 17, 2026, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Senior representatives from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States met to address the rapidly evolving security dynamics of the space domain.

Principals noted that the space domain has become more complex and less secure. While space systems underpin our economies and societies, space is increasingly contested by actors who continue to develop offensive capabilities that put our shared interests at risk.

Emphasizing the urgency created by the changing global security environment, Principals concurred on reviewing their approach to ensure that the Initiative remains fit for purpose. Moving forward, members will further prioritize and align the Initiative's activities to protect and defend the freedom of access and use of outer space.

The CSpO Initiative will redouble its efforts to deliver capabilities in support of combined operations, with a particular focus on Multi-National Force Operation OLYMPIC DEFENDER (MNF-OOD). Established in 2013 to synchronize efforts to strengthen resilience and deterrence against malicious acts in space, MNF-OOD recently successfully demonstrated the collective ability of allied nations to detect events in space, including threats to space systems. By aligning these multinational efforts, the CSpO Initiative seeks to enhance collective security and operational readiness to respond to hostile space activities.

Senior officials are scheduled to reconvene in December 2026 in Oslo, Norway, to review progress on CSpO's strategic objectives and ensure the Initiative remains responsive to the shifting security landscape.

Site Selections Announced for Directed-Energy Counter-Drone Program

May 6, 2026 | By Army Lt. Col. Adam Scher, Joint Interagency Task Force 401 |

On behalf of the War Department, Joint Interagency Task Force 401 selected five installations to participate in the directed-energy counter-unmanned aircraft systems pilot program included in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.  

This initiative will accelerate the fielding and evaluation of advanced directed energy capabilities to protect critical infrastructure, military installations and homeland missions. The locations were deliberately selected to support rigorous testing and operational assessments across diverse environments and mission sets.  
 
They include key southern border installations: Fort Huachuca, Arizona; and Fort Bliss, Texas, as well as Naval Base Kitsap, Washington; Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota; and Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. 
 
"Countering unlawful and adversarial drone activity is a homeland defense imperative," said Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, Joint Interagency Task Force 401 director. "There is no 'silver bullet' to address this challenge, and this pilot program integrates cutting-edge technology into the department's broader counter-drone toolkit."  
 
These capabilities, including high-energy lasers and high-powered microwave systems, are among many counter-UAS tools available to commanders as part of a layered defense. The technology enables service members to disrupt and defeat unlawful or adversarial drone activity while minimizing risk to surrounding personnel and infrastructure. 
 
Developed in close coordination with the services, U.S. Northern Command and the Federal Aviation Administration, the pilot program builds on several recent milestones that have advanced the safe domestic employment of directed-energy systems. These include:

• A joint DOW-FAA demonstration at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, validating that the systems do not pose undue risk to passenger aircraft. 
• Operational systems employment in support of the southern border mission. 
• The recent DOW-FAA safety risk assessment that established procedures for future use while protecting the national airspace.

"Our collaboration with the FAA and the successful demonstration at White Sands were pivotal steps forward in our counter-UAS efforts," said Army Col. Scott McLellan, deputy director of the task force. "We showed that directed-energy systems can counter drone threats while preserving the safety of air travelers. This pilot program now allows us to translate that progress into evolving operational capability for the homeland."

During the next 180 days, the department will finalize deployment plans with installation commanders, enabling operations to begin later this year.

Pentagon Lab Day Demonstrates Best of War Department Research

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

Dozens of scientists and engineers from around the War Department attended the annual Pentagon Lab Day today, where they showcased what the best and brightest minds are creating in the nation's most advanced research labs. 

Some of the technology on display included bacteria that make concrete. Other highlights were lasers that can bend to increase the lethality of energy weapons at longer distances and a robot dog equipped with 3D mapping technology.

"It's great to have our science and technology enterprise represented here," said Emil Michael, undersecretary of war for research and engineering, who opened the event. "It's one of the most exciting parts of research and engineering. I'm looking forward to seeing everything you guys have built. ... We're working on labs and making sure we're efficient and have the right authority to do more, better [and] faster."

Joseph Jewell, the assistant secretary of war for science and technology, said the department aims to improve labs moving forward.

"We're currently engaged in an assessment of the labs, a review, to kind of see what the landscape is," he said. "Although we haven't released the results yet, one of the huge outcomes is that we know that our defense labs are the link between purely academic research and technology that benefits the warfighter."

The first Pentagon Lab Day was held in 2015, as an ongoing outreach campaign that ties together science and technology efforts across the department's research and engineering enterprise. This year's event included researchers from the Air Force Research Laboratory, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and the Army Research Office.

Harshil Dave, a research scientist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory who specializes in optics, demonstrated how the right optics and mirrors can bend lasers to focus them properly and make them more lethal, even at long distances.

"Typically, if you think of a laser weapon system, if you see it in the movies, it's a big, powerful laser pointer. ...  You just point it at a target, and it blows up," he said.

However, lasers can lose focus at long distances, Dave said. Anybody with a laser pointer can see that when it's pointed to the other side of the room, the laser dot gets larger and less focused. Other things, like turbulence in the air, can also affect focus and reduce its effectiveness. He is using optics to solve those problems.

"With beam shaping, you can sense the moving turbulence in real time, and compensate by adding a negative, basically, to the image so that you can get back to a nice, clean, spot-on target."

Dave said advanced optics increase the laser's range, enabling it to operate in more difficult environments. They also make directed-energy weapons that use lasers, making them more lethal and effective for the warfighter. 

"If we're looking to put directed-energy systems out in the battlefield, we're trying to make them as effective as possible and be able to engage at longer ranges," he said. "All this stuff is important so that we can have useful area defense and things like that. With directed-energy systems, we're trying to basically enhance the capability of any systems that go onto a platform."

In addition to lasers, lab day visitors were dazzled by lots of new technology, but it was an enhanced older item that really caught their attention: a robotic dog.

Mounted on top of the robotic dog was a system that allows users to 3D map the inside of a facility and transmit that rendering to increase situational awareness.

Julian Raheema, a robotics scientist with the Navy's Reverse Engineering, Science and Technology for Obsolescence, Restoration and Evaluation Laboratory in San Diego, explained how the system, collaborative helper autonomous shipboard exploration robot, or CHASER, helps the military be more effective.

"This system is creating a map of the environment — no GPS needed — inside a ship, inside a building, whatever you want; it builds a map for you."

With hardware mounted on a robotic dog, which can go up and down stairs, the inside of a facility, ship or cave, for instance, can be mapped in 3D and then transmitted to an operator who can navigate the mapped environment using a headset.

The robotic dog can also follow a user without having to be controlled.

Raheema said that, using artificial intelligence, the system can also annotate what it sees.

"It ... not only can map it, but also annotate, 'I saw a person, I saw grenade, I saw a gun'" he said.

The system can also be preloaded with a mission set. So even if communications fail, the system will continue to operate independently.

Michael S. Carter, a biomaterial research scientist with the Air Force Research Laboratory, displayed what looked like concrete, but it was made by using biological materials applied to sand.

The biologically produced bacteria are grown in the U.S. and preserved as powder, which can then be mixed and sprayed directly onto a surface.

Carter said they are embedding that bacteria into sand, like a beach, along with some additional chemicals, to form calcium carbonate, hardening the surface to drive vehicles over it. He noted that once the technology is improved, more uses can be envisioned.

"I think we can rapidly take beachheads and convert them into drivable surfaces for things like [joint logistics over the shore]," he said. "Runways [are] an obvious one, airfields in general, but the supporting structure around it — parking lots, roadways, landing zones — all are target applications."

Department of War Releases Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Files in Historic Transparency Effort

May 8, 2026 |

Today, the Department of War announced the initial release of new, never-before-seen files on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) as part of the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE). This interagency effort includes The White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Department of Energy (DOE), the DOW's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and additional components of U.S. intelligence agencies. The collection will be housed on WAR.GOV/UFO and additional files will be released by the Department of War on a rolling basis. 

This release follows the direction of President Donald J. Trump to begin the process of identifying and declassifying government files related to UAP in the interest of total transparency. No other President or administration in history has followed through on this level of UAP transparency.

The American people can now access the federal government's declassified UAP files instantly. The latest UAP videos, photos, and original source documents from across the entire United States government are all in one place – no clearance required. While past administrations sought to discredit or dissuade the American people, President Trump is focused on providing maximum transparency to the public, who can ultimately make up their own minds about the information contained in these files.

The American people have asked for more transparency on these topics, and President Trump is delivering. While all of the files have been reviewed for security purposes, many of the materials have not yet been analyzed for resolution of any anomalies.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth: "The Department of War is in lockstep with President Trump to bring unprecedented transparency regarding our government's understanding of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it's time the American people see it for themselves. This release of declassified documents demonstrates the Trump Administration's earnest commitment to unprecedented transparency."

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard: "The American people have long sought transparency about the government's knowledge of unidentified anomalous phenomena. Under President Trump's leadership, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is actively coordinating the Intelligence Community's declassification efforts with the Department of War to ensure a careful, comprehensive, and unprecedented review of our holdings to provide the American people with maximum transparency. Today's release is the first in what will be an ongoing joint declassification and release effort."

FBI Director Kash Patel: "The FBI is proud to stand alongside President Trump and our interagency partners in this landmark release of UAP records. For the first time in history, the American people have unfettered access to declassified government files on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon - a level of transparency that no prior administration has delivered. The FBI remains committed to supporting this rolling declassification effort with the same rigor and integrity we bring to every national security matter. As these files continue to be reviewed and released, the American people can be confident that their security remains our highest priority."

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman: "I applaud President Trump's whole-of-government effort to bring greater transparency to the American people on unidentified anomalous phenomena. At NASA, our job is to bring the brightest minds and most advanced scientific instruments to bear, follow the data, and share what we learn. We will remain candid about what we know to be true, what we have yet to understand, and all that remains to be discovered. Exploration and the pursuit of knowledge are core to NASA's mission as we endeavor to unlock the secrets of the universe." 

WAR.GOV/UFO is a dedicated Department of War webpage to stay up to date with the latest UAP file releases.

Coast Guard Great Lakes District Set to Use Autonomous Sail Drones

May 5, 2026 | By Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Lauofo, USCG Great Lakes |

Leveraging a contract awarded by the Coast Guard to enhance maritime domain awareness, the Great Lakes District will deploy autonomous drones to support Coast Guard missions on the Great Lakes from May to October.

The drones are wind- and solar-powered vessels the Coast Guard will use to monitor the Great Lakes, gather critical weather data for emergency response planning, track illicit activity and keep maritime borders safe.

The autonomous vessels are highly visible, equipped with radar, cameras and collision-avoidance artificial intelligence and monitored continuously by human operators who can take manual control if needed.

Sail drones are equipped with sensors focused solely on maritime domain awareness, providing critical information on vessel activities, including vessels in distress or engaged in illegal operations.

In short, these autonomous systems augment the essential needs of qualified Coast Guard crews operating on the Great Lakes. 

Project Flytrap 5.0 Puts Emerging Tech in Warfighters' Hands

May 4, 2026 | By Army Sgt. Max Elliott, 196th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment |

U.S. infantry soldiers assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and paratroopers from the U.K. Parachute Regiment prepared for the force-on-force phase of Project Flytrap 5.0 at Pabradė Training Area, Lithuania, May 2.  

Project Flytrap integrates autonomous and unmanned ground vehicles, first-person view drones and counter-unmanned aerial systems on the simulated battlefield. 

This marked the third consecutive day of preparation and system integration for the exercise, which included a briefing attended by participating U.S. soldiers and U.K. paratroopers. Soldiers spent the remainder of the day conducting drone familiarization, operating unmanned ground vehicles and rehearsing counter-UAS procedures in preparation for the upcoming engagement. 

Among those preparing were Army Spc. Arthur Tugman, an infantryman assigned to the 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, who took on the role of unmanned ground vehicle operator to transport equipment, soldiers, UAS and counter-UAS for the exercise, a mission set outside his traditional infantry duties. 

The integration of infantry soldiers into unmanned ground vehicle operations reflects a broader theme running through Project Flytrap — placing emerging technology directly in the hands of warfighters regardless of their primary specialty and using their feedback to drive rapid improvements across the force.  

The exercise aims to organically assimilate these new duties to soldiers already assigned to units. Tugman said the speed at which his unit has been able to absorb and operate the new systems has been one of the more surprising aspects of the training. 

"Something I learned that I didn't expect was how fast the United States Army is able to integrate new systems into warfighting tactics," he said. "I'd say this equipment is very easy to use. I'm able to pick it up, turn it on, and send it wherever it needs to go, as far as it needs to go, as fast as it needs to go." 

That ease of use, Tugman said, has direct implications for how the soldiers could employ these systems at scale across the force. 

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"If all our technology works the way it's supposed to, we will preserve manpower as well as accomplish the mission faster and more effectively," he said. 

For Tugman, the measure of success extends beyond the exercise itself. He described his goal as helping establish repeatable, standardized procedures for integrating counter-UAS and unmanned ground vehicle capabilities into the 2nd Cavalry Regiment's formations — procedures he hopes will eventually be adopted service wide.

Classified Networks AI Agreements

May 1, 2026 |

The War Department Announces Agreements with Leading AI Companies to Deploy Capabilities on Classified Networks
 

The War Department has entered into agreements with eight of the world's leading frontier artificial intelligence companies, SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, NVIDIA, Reflection, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Oracle to deploy their advanced AI capabilities on the Department's classified networks for lawful operational use. These agreements accelerate the transformation toward establishing the United States military as an AI-first fighting force and will strengthen our warfighters' ability to maintain decision superiority across all domains of warfare.

Integrating secure frontier AI capabilities into the Department's Impact Level 6 (IL6) and Impact Level 7 (IL7) network environments will streamline data synthesis, elevate situational understanding, and augment warfighter decision-making in complex operational environments. SpaceX, OpenAI, Google, NVIDIA, Reflection, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Oracle will provide resources to deploy their capabilities on both IL6 and IL7 environments. This effort supports the Department's AI Acceleration Strategy by enabling new capabilities across its three core tenets of warfighting, intelligence, and enterprise operations.

GenAI.mil, the War Department's official AI platform, is already demonstrating the scale and impact of this acceleration. Over 1.3 million Department personnel have used the platform, generating tens of millions of prompts and deploying hundreds of thousands of agents in only five months. Warfighters, civilians and contractors are putting these capabilities to practical use right now, cutting many tasks from months to days.

The Department will continue to build an architecture that prevents AI vendor lock and ensures long-term flexibility for the Joint Force. Access to a diverse suite of AI capabilities from across the resilient American technology stack will give warfighters the tools they need to act with confidence and safeguard the nation against any threat.

Together, the War Department and these strategic partners share the conviction that American leadership in AI is indispensable to national security. This leadership depends on a thriving domestic ecosystem of capable model developers that enable the full and effective use of their capabilities in support of Department missions. As mandated by President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, the Department will continue to envelop our warfighters with advanced AI to meet the unprecedented emerging threats of tomorrow and to strengthen our Arsenal of Freedom.

Spacecom Takes Operational Control of Facility in Alabama

April 30, 2026 | By Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Shannon Burns, U.S. Space Command |

During a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday, Space Force Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, announced the command's operational control over a facility located at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. 

This announcement marks yet another step in the command's transition from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Huntsville. 

"Today, we cut the ribbon on more than just a building," Whiting said during the ceremony. "This facility represents a critical step forward for U.S. Space Command. This is where we plant our flag for the first operational element of our headquarters — the Joint Intelligence Support Element — here at Redstone Arsenal." 

The JISE, a team that falls under the Spacecom Intelligence Directorate, directly supports the command's operational mission through intelligence analysis. Upon completing their transition, the 80-person team will deliver critical intelligence that underpins the military's freedom of movement in the space domain. 

Air Force Brig. Gen. Nathan Rusin, director of the Spacecom Intelligence Directorate, was in attendance and touted the significance of this historic event. 

"As we execute the strategic transition of our combatant command headquarters to our new home at Redstone Arsenal here in Huntsville, our primary imperative remains absolute: maintaining uninterrupted space superiority and continuous warfighting readiness," Rusin said. "Make no mistake, the JISE leading this charge serves as a symbol of our commitment to ensuring mission needs are executed flawlessly throughout this move." 

Since President Donald J. Trump announced the relocation of Spacecom, Sept. 2, 2025, the command has been identifying facility requirements and opportunities to work with partners across the garrison to expedite the move. Whiting announced a goal of having at least half of the command operating from Redstone by the end of 2028.

Reauthorizations Accelerate Tech for War Department

April 29, 2026 | By C. Todd Lopez, Pentagon News |

The recent reauthorization of a couple of small business technology programs opens the gates for the War Department to get cutting-edge technology more quickly into the hands of warfighters. 

The Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs have, for decades, been cornerstones of defense innovation by allocating billions of dollars in research and development awards to thousands of American small business innovators. 

At the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, today, Emil Michael, undersecretary of war for research and engineering, explained how the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act, signed into law April 13 by President Donald J. Trump, enhances the department's access to the best technology. 

"The moment the bill was signed, we had solicitations ready, including over 90 topics where the department seeks innovative capabilities directly from industry," Michael said, adding that, since its inception, the all-time investment through those programs stands at over $41 billion.  

"That funding has driven 80,000 awards to 14,000 small businesses. This is how we turn American ingenuity into an overwhelming battlefield advantage for the warfighter," he said. 

The greatest innovation happens in small businesses, and Michael said American small businesses doing innovative work in space, artificial intelligence, hypersonic research and quantum, for instance, will ensure U.S. warfighters can confidently face the emerging threats from adversaries. 

"Our small business partners bring the grit, the speed, [and] the agility that the joint force needs to win," he said. "Moving forward, every innovation dollar we invest, including through SBIR [and] STTR, must deliver bleeding-edge capability to our military that can scale rapidly and remain cost-effective for the American taxpayer." 

Michael said that as the head of the War Department's technology office, he plans to make it easier for small businesses to partner with the government to bring their innovation and to eliminate bureaucracy. 

"Under my leadership, we're done stringing industry along with endless 'maybes,'" he said. "My commitment to you is fast 'yeses' and fast 'nos,' so you can get back to doing what you do best: innovating for the warfighter." 

Kelly Loeffler, administrator of the Small Business Administration, said the War Department's investment in small businesses has huge economic impacts inside the U.S. 

"[For] the Department of War alone, [each] dollar they invest has a 22-to-one return on investment, which is really powerful," she said. "It's generated about $121 billion in revenues and 1.5 million jobs in this country."

Loeffler said nearly half of the awards go to firms with fewer than 25 employees, noting that America's small innovators, on which the program was founded, are making the largest strategic impact on national security. 

Small businesses are already contributing to the War Department's efforts through SIBR and STTR funding. 

Weather-sensing hardware and software developed by PEMDAS Technologies & Innovations can be used on helicopters and autonomous aircraft like drones, for instance, to equip them to be more aware of weather hazards, even outside the U.S. Using SBIR dollars, Caroline Harten, a meteorologist with PEMDAS, said the company was able to develop prototypes, flight test prototypes and provide opportunities to collaborate with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. 

"We're working to solve a very hard problem that's critical to our ability to operate overseas," she said.  

Small Business Innovation Research funding allows the company to keep working and developing prototypes for DOW. 

Thibault Roumengous, director of research at NIRSense, said SBIR dollars are enabling biosensors developed by his company "to look at collaboration and engagement of ... drone pilots in special training circumstances." 

Using near-infrared spectroscopy, he said, the sensors measure perfusion, which is the delivery of blood to tissue. Such systems allow monitoring of reperfusion injuries from tourniquets, for instance. 

The company put sensors on headgear, adding EEG and the ability to supply bio-impedance pulses to help improve performance by increasing alertness. "It stimulates the brain to keep the user engaged," Roumengous said. "But it's still about monitoring somebody's physiology."