Army Gen. Michael Kurilla told lawmakers on March 7 that he would “love” to have the Navy deploy more directed-energy arms capable of downing drones. Having supplemental directed energy on hand, he added, would also mean expending fewer U.S. missiles, which can cost millions of dollars a pop. Iranian drones being funneled to extremist groups can cost thousands of dollars each.

“The bigger concern is if you start talking about swarms. We need to continue to invest in things like high-power microwave to be able to counter a drone swarm that is coming at you,” Kurilla said during the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in Washington. “Nothing is 100%. At some point the law of statistics will come up. You have to have a layered defense.”

High-energy lasers and microwave weapons are capable of zapping overhead threats in ways dissimilar to traditional munitions and at a fraction of the cost. Lasers can fire at the speed of light and punch holes through material, while microwaves can fry electronics at a distance, rendering tech obsolete. Both are considered a critical element of layered defense, or having multiple countermeasures ready to thwart different threats in different situations.

The Defense Department has for decades pitched money into directed-energy weapons, an average $1 billion annually in the past three years, according to the Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog.

At least 31 directed-energy initiatives are underway across the department, with some more mature than others. Among them are Lockheed Martin’s High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance, or HELIOS, installed aboard the Navy destroyer Preble in 2022, and Epirus’ Leonidas, delivered to the Army in 2023 in furtherance of its Indirect Fire Protection Capability.

Bringing such systems to fruition — let alone mass production — has proven tricky. Aside from their technological complexity, laser- and microwave-based weaponry demand precious components and materials such as germanium and gallium.

Kurilla on Wednesday said the Army “sent us some directed-energy mobile short-range air defense” that are being experimented with. He provided no details about initial results. The service dispatched four Stryker-mounted 50-kilowatt laser prototypes in February, Breaking Defense reported.

Militants across the Greater Middle East have in recent months conducted more than 175 attacks on U.S. and allied forces. A drone strike in Jordan, at the Tower 22 installation near al-Tanf garrison, killed three troops in January. A Houthi missile attack on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden this month killed three crew members, as well, and forced an evacuation of the vessel.

“This is not the same central region as last year,” Kurilla said. “Iran’s expansive network of proxies is equipped with advanced, sophisticated weaponry, and threatens some of the most vital terrain in the world with global and U.S. implications.”

The MPU5 handheld radios furnished under a $5.1 million contract can share voice, video and text, as well as positioning and sensor data, and the antennas further extend connectivity. The tech is a major step up from the old “walkie-talkie” radios sometimes found in the field, the company said in a statement.

“Our MPU5s deliver robust, secure, broadband line-of-sight and beyond-line-sight communications, and they do so without Air Force personnel having to rely on third-party infrastructure, which is key in a contested environment,” Adrien Robenhymer, Persistent’s vice president of business development for Air Force and intelligence community programs, said in a statement.

The equipment will be used by contingency response groups, which quickly deploy to establish command and control, maintenance and refueling hubs where military infrastructure is otherwise lacking.

As the Pentagon prepares for potential fights in the Indo-Pacific and Europe, the Air Force is pursuing what’s known as agile combat employment. The ACE concept envisions a hub-and-spoke layout of bases — some large and fixed, others small and mobile — that will scatter supplies and manpower.

Dated lines of communication could stunt the process.

“Persistent’s [mobile ad hoc networking] products extend the enterprise to the tactical edge and allow full situational awareness even in austere environments,” Robenhymer said.

The Air Force last year tapped Persistent to provide seamless networking for security operations at three U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile bases.

In that deal, worth nearly $76 million, the company planned to roll out its Infrastructure-based Regional Operation Network, or IRON, to link patrolling security personnel with faraway operations centers and to keep an eye out for intruders.

Persistent said some 700 IRON assets would be installed across Malmstrom, Minot and F.E. Warren Air Force bases in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming, respectively.

After more than five years atop the country’s premier intelligence agency and cyber-fighting organization, Army Gen. Paul Nakasone was scheduled Feb. 2 to pass the torch to Air Force Gen. Timothy Haugh.

The change-of-command ceremony at Fort Meade, Maryland, was not livestreamed, and a request for comment made to CYBERCOM was not immediately answered. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was scheduled to attend and speak at the event, according to a Pentagon travel advisory.

Haugh previously served as the deputy at CYBERCOM, tasked with guarding sensitive Defense Department information and coordinating digital operations. He also served as the commander of the Cyber National Mission Force, which has deployed more than 55 times to 27 countries — including Ukraine, ahead of Russia’s invasion, and Albania, in the wake of Iranian hacks — to identify network weakness.

President Joe Biden tapped Haugh for the post in May. The process, though, was paralyzed by a hold on all senior military nominations enacted by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican.

CYBERCOM stands at a pivotal point as Haugh takes over. Now more than a decade old, the command is undergoing what officials have described as a holistic review.

The U.S. is increasingly focused on countering Russia and China while also juggling extremist groups in the Greater Middle East and Africa. Each poses unique challenges to offense and defense in the virtual world.

“In the cyber domain, we’re undergoing several efforts to shape the future of our cyber forces, including how we generate, train and organize for maximum effect, what some of us have started calling ‘Cyber Command 2.0,’” Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb told reporters in January.

“We’re starting to think this could be a really great opportunity for us to go to that next level of evolution for Cyber Command,” he added.

While the department investigates what type of drone slipped past air defenses and hit a desert installation known as Tower 22 near Syria, preliminary evidence suggests the attack was the workings of Kataib Hezbollah, according to Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh. The group emerged in the early 2000s and has since been blamed for violence across Iraq.

“In terms of attribution for the attack, we know this is an [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]-backed militia. It has the footprints of Kataib Hezbollah, but not making a final assessment on that,” she said during a Jan. 29 briefing at the Pentagon. “Our teams are continuing to do the analysis, but we know Iran is behind it.”

The Iranian government denied involvement but has long supplied combatants in advancement of its own goals.

Assets from the regime have been used by Houthi rebels in Yemen to harass ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, deployed by Russian forces in their continued invasion of Ukraine and were reportedly exported to Ethiopia and Sudan.

“There are a whole host of airframes and systems that Iran-backed militias in Iraq have been parading for the past few years that show telltale signs of Iranian support,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, told C4ISRNET. “Via these parades, we have seen Iran-backed groups tip their hand as to new capabilities made available by their patron in Tehran.”

Such armaments include reusable Mohajer unmanned aerial vehicles capable of dropping bombs and smaller one-way attack drones such as the Shahed series.

The Defense Intelligence Agency, a principal source of foreign intelligence for U.S. military endeavors, in August showed reporters charred remains of Shahed-101 and Shahed-131 drones and at least one defused warhead with a shaped charge, meant to punch through armor, and fragmenting cubes designed to harm personnel. The pieces were recovered from fighting well beyond Iran’s borders and assembled stateside for accountability.

“As has been the case in other theaters, one-way attack UAVs, popularly known as suicide drones, function as the poor man’s cruise missile. This means a lower and slower threat with a different flight profile compared to rockets and missiles that can take various angles of attack,” Taleblu said. “They are also cheaper to produce and exemplify the phrase ‘quantity has a quality of its own.’”

The attack on Tower 22, close to the al-Tanf garrison, is among the latest in a barrage targeting U.S. forces. The Defense Department has since mid-October logged at least 165 attacks in the region, including 66 in Iraq and 98 in Syria.

What casts the Tower 22 bombardment in such sharp relief is the fact that it “was so tragically successful,” according to Jonathan Lord, a senior fellow and director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security think tank. That difference could be seen as a significant escalation in an area already inflamed.

“I think it also foot-stomps the fact that these militias have been trying to kill Americans for months. These aren’t shots across the bow, these aren’t warnings or demonstrations of might. They’re trying to kill people,” Lord said in an interview. “I think what is under debate right now is who’s going to bear the brunt of that response, and where will that be borne.”

The U.S. military has successfully countered overhead threats like rocket fire and explosive unmanned systems for months, including in the Red Sea. The guided-missile destroyer Carney in December batted down 14 drones that U.S. Central Command described as a wave.

In some cases, exemplified by the DIA display, scraps can be retrieved and studied. Engines, exhaust pipes, wing stabilizers, circuitry, landing gear and more can all aid experts in identifying make, model or origin.

“There may be recoverable parts. There could be radar reflections the military has that might give them a better sense. They might have more signature information,” Lord said. “I’m certain that CENTCOM knows, exactly, where this originated.”

The Wall Street Journal reported the drone that hit Tower 22 may have been mistaken for an American drone that was in the air at the same time. Defense officials said the circumstances are under investigation.

No maintainers milled about, no drills whirred and no hammers clanged. But the steady hum of spinning blades echoed through the chamber at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, as a drone autonomously maneuvered around the transport aircraft.

Its movement, aided by digital models and crash-avoidance capabilities, was punctuated by occasional hovering as it stabilized to capture with a high-resolution camera photos of the plane’s exterior. The images then flashed onto a nearby display, with potential issues organized for expert review.

“This is what young technicians live in the Department of Defense, the Navy, the Army, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, whoever it may be,” Scott Belanger, a Boeing executive, told reporters gathered at the base Jan. 23. “This is their environment, where they are charged with generating aircraft, like the C-5 here, that are old and hard to keep on the flight line.”

Last week marked the first time Boeing and small-business partner Near Earth Autonomy cataloged a C-5 for their Autonomous Aircraft Inspection project. By feeding photos snapped by an unmanned aerial system through automated damage-detecting software and then uploading the results into a secure database accessible across the world, the two companies hope to slash the time it takes to evaluate and repair aircraft, ultimately boosting Air Force readiness.

While Boeing and Near Earth Autonomy have worked together for months previously, assessing and digitally archiving the status of Boeing C-17 cargo planes at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, the work on the East Coast marks “a big moment” for the AAI initiative, according to Belanger.

Not only did it push Boeing outside its own portfolio — handling an aircraft made by competitor Lockheed — but the work itself was executed in conditions unlike Hawaii.

“You just can’t do this stuff in a simulated environment. You’ve got to have an airplane, got to have a hanger, … got to get a little bit dirty and dive in to effectively do this,” Belanger said. “There are very few hangers in the United States where you can park a C-5 inside. There just aren’t many of these.”

Dover Air Force Base is home to both C-17 and C-5 aircraft. Traditional inspections relying on trained crews can take hours, with harnessing and clambering required. (A ladder in the tail of a C-5 brings airmen to a six-story perch.) The 34-point review conducted Jan. 23 via drone took roughly 10 minutes.

Looking ahead

As the Defense Department prepares for potential fights in the Indo-Pacific and Europe, the Air Force is pursuing what’s known as Agile Combat Employment. The ACE concept envisions a hub-and-spoke layout of bases — some larger and fixed, some smaller and mobile — that will scatter supplies, manpower and knowhow.

Only two people are needed to run the Automated Aircraft Inspection, and training takes a few hours. The process helps overcome the tedium associated with conventional assay, according to Ken Jones, an Air Force maintenance official.

“This is best, because what we have to do with our system is actually go out and then review the imagery and look for things,” he told reporters. “Their artificial intelligence is drawing little boxes around the things that the computer thinks, ‘This isn’t what it’s supposed to be.’”

The drone-and-software combo deployed at Dover Air Force Base discovered missing paint, chips and other possible irregularities. Reporters observed the review process, in which experts quickly sorted the images and flagged what needed fixing.

“It’s pretty easy to be able to do that,” Jones said. “If you’re working over a year’s time, we could be talking about saving a week or two, and, on top of that, is the safety thing. We’re definitely interested in the time, and we’re definitely interested in the quality of the product of the inspection.”

For future examinations, Boeing and Near Earth Autonomy are eyeing additional drone payloads, to potentially catch subsurface damage, and are moving the drone outdoors, requiring weatherization upgrades to the hardware. Boeing, the fifth largest contractor in the world when ranked by defense-related revenue, committed to getting the UAS operating outside within the next year and a half.

Additional aircraft could also join the inspection roster. Near-term candidates include the KC-135 and KC-46 tankers. Both are made by Boeing.

WASHINGTON — The testing of sophisticated software aboard an XQ-58A Valkyrie drone will influence how the U.S. Air Force develops and deploys autonomous technology in the near future, according to a service official.

The Kratos-made UAV flew a three-hour sortie in July near Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, relying for the first time on artificial intelligence algorithms. Its programming was matured over millions of hours in simulation and digital environments; in flights with an experimental F-16 jet known as the X-62 VISTA; and other events, according to the service.

Col. Tucker “Cinco” Hamilton, chief of AI testing and operations, on Jan. 16 said the Valkyrie proved to be “a great test bed” and one capable of illuminating novel approaches to traditional tasks.

“We have to give it some space as it’s doing its maneuvering and just recognize that it is a computer-controlled … aircraft, and it may do things differently than a human,” Hamilton said during a livestreamed event hosted by C4ISRNET. “We need to recognize there’s a huge benefit there — some things we are doing right now may not be the most efficient, most effective way of doing things.”

Tinkering with the Valkyrie builds upon years of the Air Force’s Skyborg program and is closely linked to its more recent effort for collaborative combat aircraft, or CCA. The service in the coming years wants to pair human pilots with CCAs to afford greater flexibility and firepower.

The uncrewed aircraft could execute a variety of assignments: conducting reconnaissance, gathering intelligence, jamming signals, serving as decoys and striking targets with their own missiles. Officials have said CCAs could range in cost and complexity, with some being expensive and precious while others could be easily sacrificed in combat.

“If I’m flying around in my fighter, I can imagine a world where I have multiple drones able to conduct some missions,” Hamilton said. “The key, though, is we’ve got to get the human-machine teaming right. It’s all about that. AI and this autonomy — it’s got to empower the decision-maker.”

Robert Winkler, a vice president at Kratos, said in September that the Air Force and the Defense Department have communicated their desires for a fleet of robotic wingmen. David Alexander, the president of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, which makes the Gray Eagle and Reaper drones, has said the same thing.

The Air Force’s fiscal 2024 budget blueprint included at least $392 million for CCA work. Billions of dollars are forecast to be spent in the long term.

The green light, given Oct. 25 at a ceremony inside an aviation museum, marks a step toward the realization of the 950th Spectrum Warfare Group, tasked with assessing the effectiveness of electronic warfare across dozens of aircraft while improving jamming and spoofing capabilities in large military exercises.

The nascent group is an outgrowth of the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. That wing is staffed by engineers and other specialists that tinker with software and code to counter electronic threats in the field.

“Our enemies right now are looking at developing countermeasures as they shore up their capabilities against us,” Col. Josh Koslov, the wing’s commander, said at the ceremony. “Our team here at Robins will identify what our weak points are, and be able to point us in the direction we need to go.”

The Air Force, like the Army and the Navy, is reinvesting in electronic warfare and the related domination of the electromagnetic spectrum after years of atrophy. Modern militaries rely on the spectrum to communicate, navigate and guide weapons to their targets; the fight over it can make or break wartime success.

Both Russia and China recognize the value of the spectrum and are trying to beef up their associated arsenals. The latter may struggle in fights where spectrum access is fiercely contested, according to a Pentagon assessment released earlier this month.

“I want to emphasize the words of the commander of Air Combat Command, Gen. Mark Kelly, who said if we don’t achieve superiority in the spectrum, then our forces are going to lose, and we’re going to lose fast,” Koslov said.

The 950th Spectrum Warfare Group is expected to be fully established by 2027. But Koslov has nearer-term goals.

The detachments activated at Robins Air Force Base, where a significant avionics footprint already exists, are feeding the effort.

“Standing up these units today gives me the organizational capability to put mission on the table for warfighters,” Koslov said. “We’re depressurizing the administrivia of standing up an organization and allowing them to focus on mission earlier.”

Frederick Douglass Moorefield Jr., a deputy chief information officer for command, control and communications, was one of two men the Justice Department on Oct. 2 said was apprehended following an investigation into the alleged animal abuse and underground gambling. The other was Mario Damon Flythe.

The Washington Post reported the Defense Department was “aware of the criminal complaint” and that Moorefield was “no longer in the workplace,” citing a department spokesperson.

The deputy CIO for command, control and communications lends expertise and guidance on policy and technical issues related to defense connectivity and data-sharing standards. It also plays a role in spectrum-sharing decisions.

Police searched the Maryland homes of Moorefield and Flythe in early September. They rescued 12 dogs, according to the Justice Department, and recovered veterinary steroids, training regimens, a carpet “that appeared to be stained with blood” and a weighted dog vest. An electrical plug and jumper cables — likely used to kill losing dogs — were also found, an affidavit alleges.

Moorefield was released after being arraigned, records show. If convicted, he could face five years in prison.

Maxim Marchenko, originally from Russia, was arrested outside the U.S. this week and extradited to Westchester County, New York, documents filed in federal court show. He’s facing several charges, including alleged conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to commit wire fraud and the smuggling of goods.

The dual-use technologies Marchenko is accused of surreptitiously middle-manning for Russia — namely OLED micro-displays from a company based in Dutchess County, New York — can be used for medical imaging and rifle scopes, video games and night-vision goggles, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The tech is subject to export administration regulations, which govern shipments overseas. Shell companies allegedly run by Marchenko funneled more than $1 million into the U.S. between May 2022 and August 2023.

“We are laser-focused on rooting out the procurement networks fueling the Russian war machine,” Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said in a statement Sept. 18. “Working hand-in-hand with our federal law enforcement partners, we will continue to identify and disrupt Russia’s use of front companies in the People’s Republic of China and elsewhere to evade our controls.”

Microelectronics play a critical role in modern military technology. And erosion of microelectronic capacities threatens national security, U.S. analysts have warned. The CHIPS and Science Act, passed last summer, allocated $2 billion for related research, fabrication and workforce training.

Russian military hardware, including drones, radios and electronic warfare devices, are reliant upon Western-sourced components, the court documents note. To access them, especially now, as export controls tighten, “Russia relies on third-party transshipment hubs and clandestine procurement and payment networks,” they continue.

“Disrupting the efforts of facilitators and procurement agents like Marchenko, who use their skills and connections to advance the agenda of the Russian war machine, is one of the most important priorities” of Task Force KleptoCapture, said its co-director, David Kim.

The task force was launched in March to enforce sanctions, export restrictions and other economic measures the U.S. levies in response to Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine. Task force members include agents and analysts from the FBI, Marshals Service, Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security.

Marchenko could face tens of years in prison. Conspiracy to defraud the U.S. carries a maximum penalty of five years, for example. Conspiracy to commit wire fraud carries 20.

Court documents show Marchenko is represented by a federal public defender and is expected to seek bail.

The comments at the Air and Space Forces Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference here continued the Pentagon’s recent pattern of confronting Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, over his six-month blockade of general officer nominations over the department’s abortion policy. And they mark a noticeable difference in how Pentagon officials, particularly uniformed officers, tend to approach differences with Capitol Hill, which are usually handled behind the scenes or with gentler public phrasing.

Tuberville objects to the Pentagon’s decision, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, to allow troops to take leave to travel to another state to receive abortion services if they serve in a state that bans such care.

More than 300 general officer nominations are now held up by Tuberville’s holds, including Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown’s nomination to succeed Army Gen. Mark Milley as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Milley is required by law to retire at the start of October. The Army, Navy and Marine Corps also are without confirmed service chiefs due to the hold.

Gen. Mark Kelly, the retiring head of Air Combat Command, warned in a roundtable with reporters Tuesday that the disruption and unfilled positions caused by the hold have not just unsettled allies and caused them to lose confidence in the United States’ competence but have also emboldened the nation’s adversaries.

“If you drive north … on Connecticut Avenue, that popping sound is not stray gunfire,” Kelly said. “It’s champagne corks in the Chinese Embassy, bouncing off the walls.”

In his keynote address to AFA on Monday, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall led a round of applause for several general officers who have been waiting — in some cases up to half a year — for the Senate to confirm them in their new roles.

Though Kendall did not mention Tuberville by name in his address, he did call out the senator over perceived consequences.

“This is a situation that one senator has created for us,” Kendall said. “All these men and women, and their units and their families, are having their readiness and their lives negatively affected by your unprecedented actions.

“They are all doing their duty and making whatever sacrifice we ask of them — including the ones associated with your holds.”

Kendall, along with Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, also co-authored an op-ed in the Washington Post and appeared on CNN earlier this month blasting Tuberville’s hold.

At AFA on Tuesday, Kelly — who noted he expected to be retired by now after Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach would have succeeded him — said he’s worried about the effect the hold is having on the military’s officer corps, allies and adversaries.

Officers and their families give a great deal when they serve in the military, he said, citing the disruptions to their children’s education and spouses’ employment opportunities that can come with military life.

But, Kelly said, their tolerance is not unlimited.

“Each [officer] has their own individual red line,” Kelly said. “I talk to them every day. And we’re on the fringe of losing a generation of champions, [in] my opinion.”

Kelly said the United States’ allies look to its military as “a beacon of competence and confidence” — but the nation’s current dynamic “does not instill confidence.”

“Some of them are interested and vexed, some of them are downright concerned,” Kelly continued. “We try to allay those concerns as much as possible, but it’s getting more challenging by the day.”

In his own remarks at AFA on Wednesday, Navy Adm. Christopher Grady, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also highlighted the “human cost” to the hold and said it must be considered.

“It goes beyond” the general and flag officers, he said. “It goes all the way down to those [lieutenant colonels], who are looking up and waiting to move forward and can’t do it right now. That is challenging.”

“The fact that folks can’t plan for their moves or get their kids in school, that’s also challenging,” Grady continued. “There’s a very significant human dimension to this.”

Grady said Brown “definitely is the right man at the right time” to succeed Milley, and called for him to be confirmed.

Kendall said he and other defense leaders had constructive conversations with Tuberville in the past, and are happy to talk with him about the hold. But the secretary drew a line against changing the abortion policy that has incensed the Republican.

“As far as I can tell, we’re not going to change the policy. I see no indication of that,” Kendall said. “And I don’t think we should, quite frankly.

“So, we need to resolve this,” he continued. “It’s gone on long enough. It’s doing a lot of harm.”