Department of War Launches Starshield AI's Grok for Government on GenAI.mil

Aug. 31, 2026 |

The Department of War today launched Starshield AI's Grok for Government, expanding the suite of frontier AI capabilities on GenAI.mil, the Department's premier generative AI platform. Accredited for Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) at Impact Level 5 (IL5), Starshield AI's Grok for Government is engineered for secure, consistent enterprise use.

Starshield AI's Grok for Government will provide the warfighter with immediate productivity gains, stronger knowledge continuity and more secure and efficient collaboration. By bringing Starshield AI's Grok to GenAI.mil, Department personnel will gain access to advanced capabilities, including deep-thinking inference, adaptive reasoning modes (Auto, Fast, and Expert), customizable workspaces, persistent projects and reusable "playbooks" that capture and scale institutional knowledge. Starshield AI's Grok for Government enables the Joint Force to execute missions faster and with greater precision across numerous operational contexts, ranging from market research analysis for acquisition professionals to supply chain management for logisticians.

This deployment marks another major milestone in the Department's AI Acceleration Strategy and advances one of its core tenets, enterprise AI applications. Since its launch nine months ago, GenAI.mil has already onboarded over 1.7 million unique users out of the Department's more than 3 million personnel. The addition of Starshield AI's Grok for Government to GenAI.mil provides another top-tier generative AI tool for warfighter advantage, eliminating vendor lock and promoting a vibrant American AI ecosystem.

Through the Chief Digital and AI Office (CDAO) and the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, the Department will continue to scale frontier AI as a force multiplier across the Joint Force. This launch supports the White House's AI Action Plan and reinforces the Department of War's commitment to leading the adoption of AI for warfighter mission sets and decision superiority.

Department of War Launches OpenAI's ChatGPT Mil on GenAI.mil

Aug. 31, 2026 |

The Department of War today launched OpenAI's ChatGPT Mil, marking it as the next frontier AI capability housed on GenAI.mil, the Department's premier generative AI platform. This milestone represents the adoption phase of an enterprise partnership established between the Department and OpenAI in 2025. Accredited for Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) at Impact Level 5 (IL5), ChatGPT Mil is engineered for secure, consistent enterprise use.

ChatGPT Mil brings a familiar commercial experience into the Department's secure environment, tailored to warfighter needs. The core experience centers on chat, files, projects, and custom GPTs, with additional features sequenced over time. ChatGPT Mil supports document-heavy unclassified work across the Department, including planning, policy, logistics, and administration, and is built for scale to support more than 3 million Department personnel. This deployment accelerates routine tasks and frees up time for more critical projects across the Joint Force. Integrating ChatGPT Mil into GenAI.mil alongside existing frontier AI capabilities establishes a robust, multi-model ecosystem for the warfighter. 

Through the Chief Digital and AI Office (CDAO) and the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, the Department will continue scaling frontier AI as a force multiplier across the Joint Force. This launch supports the White House's AI Action Plan and reinforces the Department of War's commitment to leading the adoption of AI for warfighter mission sets and decision superiority.

Department of War Announces a $100 Million Follow-on Equity Investment in Atalco to Secure the Sole Remaining Domestic Alumina Refinery

Aug. 28, 2026 |

The Department of War's (DoW) Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy (OASW(IBP)), in partnership with the Economic Defense Unit (EDU), announced today a $100 million follow-on preferred equity investment in Atlantic Alumina Company LLC (Atalco) through the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program.

"Our national defense strategy relies on a robust and self-sufficient industrial base," said the Honorable Michael Cadenazzi, Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy. "Investing in Atalco ensures the United States maintains its domestic alumina refining capability, mitigating a critical supply chain risk and protecting our military readiness from foreign interference."

This latest action brings the Department's total investment in Atalco to $400 million. Critically, DoW's funding has catalyzed $350 million in parallel investments from Atalco's current backers , with an additional $50 million expected within the next 75 days, bringing total third-party investments to $400 million. These collective strategic investments, totaling $800 million, will secure operations at the last remaining domestic alumina refinery, preserving a vital node in the U.S. defense industrial base.

Both the DoW's and private capital's follow-on investments will purchase Class A Preferred Units, providing the liquidity necessary to sustain operations, overcome unsustainable foreign competition, and fund capital expenditures to bring the facility back to its nameplate capacity of 1.2 million metric tons of alumina per year.

The DoW requires 200,000 metric tons of metallurgical aluminum annually. While Atalco currently satisfies 60 percent of this demand, this investment will scale production to fulfill 142 percent of the Department's projected demand by 2029. With 99.3 percent of the refinery's output dedicated to national security subsectors, the project significantly insulates the U.S. from supply-chain dependence on foreign adversaries.

"This transaction is structurally anchored to protect U.S. taxpayer capital while providing the targeted liquidity necessary to scale production," said George K. Kollitides II, Director of the Economic Defense Unit. "By investing in this strategic asset, DoW mobilized $400 million of private capital and attracted a world-class independent board of directors to accelerate the development of our domestic capabilities and bridge a vital gap in the aluminum supply chain."

Without this near-term investment, financial and operational stresses would likely force the closure of both the refinery and its affiliated mining operations. This agreement preserves approximately 875 direct jobs across refining, mining, logistics, and port operations, including 530 refinery employees in Gramercy.

The Gramercy facility converts imported bauxite into domestically refined alumina, accounting for roughly 55 percent of domestic alumina demand. It serves as a critical feedstock for aluminum production across the U.S. economy, supplying Century Aluminum smelters in Kentucky, the Mt. Holly smelter in South Carolina, and major manufacturing facilities across Texas, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, and Mississippi.

This strategic partnership demonstrates the Department's ability to synchronize public and private sector efforts to meet urgent national security demands. Bolstered by the integration of third-party capital, this unified approach has empowered the United States to act decisively in establishing a resilient and enduring domestic aluminum supply chain for the future.

Department of War Announces $35.6 Million Strategic Equity Investment in Trilogy Metals to Secure Critical Copper, Cobalt, and Germanium Supplies in Northwest Alaska

Aug. 28, 2026 |

The Department of War's (DoW) Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy (IBP), in partnership with the Economic Defense Unit (EDU), announced today a $35.6 million equity investment in Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSE: TMQ) through the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program. This strategic partnership establishes a secure, domestic supply of copper, cobalt, germanium, and other critical minerals essential for national defense systems and the broader U.S. Defense Industrial Base.

Under the terms of the executed agreement, DoW's $35.6 million investment secures a 10% direct ownership stake in Trilogy Metals, along with 7.5% in penny warrants, representing a total combined U.S. government economic position of 17.5%. These funds will be directed to support exploration, engineering, and infrastructure development at the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects (UKMP) in Northwest Alaska, a district-scale, under-explored land package managed under a 50/50 joint venture (Ambler Metals LLC) between Trilogy Metals and South32 Limited.

"To build a robust Defense Industrial Base, we must secure the foundational materials that enable it," said the Honorable Mike Cadenazzi, Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy. "This partnership with Trilogy Metals is a decisive investment in America's supply chain independence and our long-term national security."

The transaction directly follows the revival and approval of the Ambler Road Project, a proposed 211-mile industrial access road from the Dalton Highway to the remote UKMP district, which was declared crucial for national security to facilitate the extraction of strategic minerals. The project is projected to create more than 2,730 construction jobs and 500 long-term mining jobs in Alaska, generating over $1.1 billion in state revenues, while driving downstream smelting, refining, and high-value manufacturing across multiple states including Arizona, Utah, Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

"The Department is tirelessly working to secure the critical minerals needed to build and sustain America's defense and economy," said George K. Kollitides II, Director of the Economic Defense Unit. "This investment puts the taxpayer and our warfighters first by taking decisive action to protect our economy from manipulation, revitalize our industrial base, and create thousands of American jobs that will support our national security for decades to come."

The UKMP contains massive deposits of critical materials, including the Arctic volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit, which is one of the highest-grade undeveloped copper deposits in the world. Additionally, the adjacent Bornite project hosts substantial copper, cobalt, and germanium reserves. These materials are the foundation of our defense systems and modern economy, powering electrical infrastructure, defense platforms, datacenters, and advanced electronics.

Army Lasers Blast Drones, Proving Directed-Energy Weapons Are Future

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

Earlier this week, service members assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border used the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser system to stop three hostile, unmanned aircraft systems deemed a threat. They were believed to be linked to drug cartels. 

"The successful defeat of these adversarial drones is a direct testament to the readiness, vigilance and technological edge of the [joint task force]," said Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, Joint Task Force Southern Border commander. "By integrating layered countermeasures alongside advanced directed-energy capabilities like this laser system, we have made it clear that we will not tolerate hostile surveillance." 

The operation marks the first use of the laser system to defeat cartel-linked drones along the southern border. 

Using directed-energy weapons, such as this, is part of the future of warfare, a War Department official said.  

"The future of warfare obviously is going to include mass attritable drones," the official added.  

The department will procure hundreds of thousands of drones as soon as next year, as well as counter-UAS technology, including directed-energy systems. 

"The department is proliferating directed-energy technology to protect the homeland and the southern border," the official said. "And [U.S. Northern Command and Joint Task Force Southern Border are] deploying these capabilities to take out any ... cartel drones that are doing incursions at the border." 

Directed-energy weapons, such as lasers, can be used to take out both drones and incoming cruise missiles, at a much lower cost than using more expensive kinetic weapons like missiles. Developing scaled directed energy weapons systems, such as what was used at the border, is one of the department's six critical technology areas.  

The other areas include: applied artificial intelligence, biomanufacturing, contested logistics technologies, quantum and battlefield information dominance, and scaled hypersonics. 

"[Directed-energy systems are] low cost per shot, with deep magazines and they can come out against drone swarms," the official said. "That's something that's different than a traditional kinetic system. It's good for the cost-exchange ratio because ... it's better than us firing a $2 million missile at [an inexpensive] drone." 

The use of directed-energy weapons on drones is also in line with the department's counter-drone effort, the official noted. 

By integrating layered countermeasures alongside advanced directed-energy capabilities like this laser system, we have made it clear that we will not tolerate hostile surveillance."

Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, Joint Task Force Southern Border commander

In June, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, where he observed a variety of directed-energy systems in operation, including the first milestone test of the Golden Dome for America. 

"Cutting-edge directed energy was harnessed, and the Dynamic Defense Autonomous Defeat system flawlessly and autonomously cued, targeted and eliminated a multitude of incoming threats," the secretary said. "This test was executed on schedule and dynamically defeated every threat. I watched our elite warfighters integrate with next-generation technology to stop incoming drones and cruise missiles dead in their tracks." 

In July, the War Department awarded two agreements under the Joint Laser Weapon System program to advance the next-generation cruise missile and unmanned aerial system defense architecture. The agreements have an initial award value of $86 million and a total program ceiling of $847 million. The Joint Laser Weapon System program is meant to transition directed-energy capabilities from demonstration prototypes into field-ready, production-oriented platforms. 

"We must actively defend the homeland against emerging threats," said Emil Michael, undersecretary of war for research and engineering and chief technology officer for the War Department. "We are partnering with industry to rapidly deliver deep magazine directed energy capabilities to the joint force that can be seamlessly deployed across multiple domains."

Army Selects Vendors, Sites for Nuclear Microreactors

Aug. 27, 2026 | By U.S. Army Communication and Outreach Office |

The Army announced yesterday that the Janus Program selected five nuclear energy vendors and five initial locations to build and operate nuclear microreactors.

In partnership with the War Department's Defense Innovation Unit, the Army is awarding up to $2.2 billion in total for these microreactors. The project will deliver safe, secure and reliable nuclear power, strengthening the Army's ability to project power globally, while supporting the revitalization of American industrial capacity and technological leadership. 

"Since launching the Janus Program, our mandate from President [Donald J.] Trump and Secretary [Pete] Hegseth has been clear: secure the power our warfighters need to train, deploy and win," said Dan Driscoll, Army secretary. "Awarding these contracts accelerates our ability to deliver safe, reliable baseload power directly to our installations. We are building the energy resilience necessary to project combat power globally, without relying on potentially vulnerable external grids."

With private sector funding expected alongside government investment, the Army expects to build and operate more than 20 nuclear microreactors across War Department installations.

The five selected vendors and installations are:

• Antares Nuclear Inc. at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
• BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
• General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems at Fort Hood, Texas.
• Radiant Industries Inc. at Fort Benning, Georgia. 
• Westinghouse Government Services at Fort Drum, New York

"We are seeking not just reactors capable of turning on for a brief demonstration, but rather systems able to deliver power with high-capacity factors for years of operation," said Jeff Waksman, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment. "The Janus Program will be a complete success when and only when we have assisted multiple nuclear companies in developing truly reliable and affordable nuclear microreactors, which they can sell to other buyers beyond just the military."

After gathering technical and operational information from industry partners, the Army narrowed the potential industry awardees for agreements. A decision board and panel of top nuclear and technical experts from the Energy Department, national laboratories and representatives from across the services provided rigorous input on the technical risks, financial situation and management capabilities of the solutions. 

The close collaboration ensured selected vendors would provide solutions to enhance energy resilience for specific operational needs at military installations. Aligning these vendors with Army installations represents the culmination of a yearlong effort to evaluate and prioritize installations based on a multitude of factors, from energy needs to seismic and hydrological considerations, with a primary focus on safety.  

As the Janus Program moves forward, vendors will bring nuclear technologies to other military installations for continued energy resilience across the entire War Department. The Army will announce additional military sites at a later date and continues to drive toward the September 2028 target outlined in Executive Order 14299 for operation of a first reactor.

"The Army is leading the nation in its return to nuclear preeminence," said Jason Craft, Janus Program manager. "Our selected industry awardees represent the most viable technologies to achieve this capability, setting conditions for both installation energy resilience and operational energy solutions."

Using a milestone-based payment model, vendors will receive government funding only after successfully hitting specific technical goals. This investment model brings together approximately $2.2 billion across fiscal years 2027-2031, along with significant capital investment from each vendor. 

This technology development model will speed up the delivery of next-generation energy solutions to the warfighter and promote innovation while ensuring accountability, Craft said. The prototype reactors will be contractor-owned and operated. Collaboration with utility providers is needed for the success of the Army's nuclear power strategy and the Janus Program. The Army will work closely with providers on the program to ensure the best possible outcomes, while continuing to collaborate with them now and in the future.

"The Army's Janus Program has my full support," said Emil Michael, undersecretary of war for research and engineering and War Department chief technology officer. "The War Department is acting swiftly to implement President Trump's executive order. ... We are unleashing America's domestic nuclear industrial base to ensure a more resilient and secure energy supply for the joint force."

Microscopic Precision, Global Impact: Navy Scientists Support Trident Missile System

Aug. 24, 2026 | By Paige Bounds, Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona Division |

The pristine precision needed to certify the nation's underwater nuclear deterrent is anchored on the talents of civilian scientists at a Navy laboratory in Southern California. 

At Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona Division, scientists can measure parts down to millionths of an inch — the level of exactitude required to keep the Navy's Trident nuclear missiles ready. 

The Trident II D5 Life Extension ballistic missile is launched underwater from submarines, providing a critical deterrent and survivable response to aggression. The Navy's Portfolio Acquisition Executive Strategic Systems Programs provides the highly accurate and reliable weapon system to the warfighter. 

NSWC Corona's Measurement Science and Technology Laboratory plays a critical role in the Trident II D5LE missile by controlling and certifying the ultra-precision tools required for its assembly, known as special interface gages. 

"Every single component from every manufacturer is built correctly thanks to these gages," said Michael Pierce, NSWC Corona's Weapons Interface Assessment branch manager. "The work that we do here guarantees that those weapons will work as they're intended every single time." 

Special interface gages verify the form, fit and function of missile parts down to tolerances in the millionths of an inch. These highly precise gages ensure missile components are manufactured to the exact shape and size needed, so they fit and work as designed when installed on a submarine. 

NSWC Corona controls and ships gages to the defense industrial base partners responsible for manufacturing and assembling the Trident missile. The mandatory use of these gages ensures that the missiles manufactured by industry meet the Navy's requirements. 

"We have engineers that design these highly specialized tools," Pierce said. "They are certified against the nation's highest measurement standards to guarantee their precision." 

In addition to supporting the Trident missile, NSWC Corona's Measurement Science and Technology Laboratory helps sustain critical weapons systems throughout the Navy and Marine Corps. From small pistols to hypersonic missiles, the warfare center's expertise in calibration and specialized gages ensures the accuracy of measurements throughout the fleet. Its inventory ranges from precision hand-held tools, like calipers, to computerized machinery, like coordinate measuring machines. 

"Nearly every weapon system deployed by sailors and Marines relies on Navy special interface gages to ensure peak operational readiness," Pierce said. 

With warfighter safety fueling their mission, the scientists' microscopic measurements result in a global impact. Whether supporting the Trident missile or other systems throughout the fleet, NSWC Corona's work equips sailors with the confidence to trust their systems — empowering them to deliver peace through strength when the nation depends on them most.