The Selective Service System, the federal agency that maintains a database of registered U.S. males who are considered draft-eligible in the event of a national emergency, submitted a proposed rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on March 30, according to the office’s dashboard.

Automatic registration into Selective Service was mandated in December 2025, when President Donald Trump signed into law the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, the agency’s website says.

“This statutory change transfers responsibility for registration from individual men to SSS through integration with federal data sources,” the website reads.

Putting the effort in motion by this December is a move to simplify the registration process and the equivalent “workforce realignment,” according to the website.

The proposed rule is currently under review by the regulatory affairs office, awaiting finalization, per the dashboard.

The SSS coordinated with Congress throughout the 2026 NDAA process, the agency’s website says. In May 2024, lawmakers worked to incorporate language about the automatic registration into the annual defense authorization bill, citing money and legal challenges. The SSS costs around $30 million a year.

“This will also allow us to rededicate resources — basically that means money — towards [readiness] and towards mobilization … rather than towards education and advertising campaigns driven to register people,” Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., who sponsored the language, said at the time.

Currently, almost all male U.S. citizens and immigrants aged 18 through 25 are required to self-register within 30 days of their 18th birthday, with late registration available until an individual turns 26.

Men who fail to register are considered to be in violation of the Military Selective Service Act and can face penalties, such as ineligibility for federal programs, a fine up to $250,000 or five years imprisonment.

Registration for the draft has dwindled in recent years, partly because the option to register was removed from federal student loan forms in 2022, which accounted for nearly a quarter of all previous registrations.

Meanwhile, after some attempts from lawmakers, women are still exempt from registration.

The SSS was established in 1917 by President Woodrow Wilson after the U.S. entered World War I. President Gerald Ford suspended the draft in 1975, but it was reinstated just five years later in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

The U.S. hasn’t activated the draft since 1973 during the Vietnam War and has relied on volunteers ever since.

The news comes about a week after the Army revealed it had approved the XM8 carbine. The service said it decided to procure the weapon system — rather than replace the M7 — in December after months of testing.

In an announcement, the Army said the variant had “undergone extensive government testing” to ensure it met “the Army’s rigorous standards for performance, reliability, effectiveness, and user acceptance.”

The Army said soldiers from a variety of units, including the 101st Airborne Division, conducted testing during an equipment evaluation event dubbed “Soldier Touch Point” in September 2025.

Exactly what feedback those soldiers provided remains unclear. The Army did not respond to questions from Military Times about testing or fielding the XM8 carbines.

According to the Army’s Lethality Portfolio, the XM8 carbine was created because soldiers wanted a “shorter, lighter, more mobile version of the M7.”

Like the M7, the XM8 is a select-fire, magazine-fed weapon chambered in 6.8mm. It uses a piston-driven gas operating system, features ambidextrous controls similar to the M4A1 and is issued with a suppressor.

The design also includes a nonreciprocating, left-side charging handle, a collapsible buttstock and a free-floating M-LOK handguard — a modernized rail system developed by Magpul Industries.

By the numbers, the XM8 carbine has an 11-inch barrel, an overall length of 32.79 inches that includes a suppressor and collapsed stock and a weight of 8.8 pounds.

Although testing results for the XM8 carbine are not immediately available, the Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation recently published its annual T&E Oversight List.

The document includes performance reviews of the Next Generation Squad Weapons — the series of 6.8mm firearms — but only covers the M7 rifle and M250, the initial weapons in the program.

According to the report, both weapons received generally positive performance reviews, noting that “soldiers consistently qualified with their NGSW and, when firing on the variable distance range, demonstrated the ability to engage targets at extended distances.”

The report also found that the 6.8mm ammunition delivered “increased lethality over the M855A1 (i.e., the standard ammunition for the legacy M4A1 weapon) against the tested targets.”

As part of the $1.5 trillion budget request released Friday, the Navy has asked for a 1,200% increase in the number of the long-range land attack missile.

In fiscal 2026, Congress granted the service $257 million for the purchase of 58 Tomahawk missiles.

The Navy is now asking lawmakers to subsidize the production of 785 Tomahawk missiles for a little over $3 billion, including roughly $1.5 billion for Tomahawk missile modifications.

The 2027 budget also requested 494 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles for approximately $800 million, up from the 106 AMRAAMs for roughly $69 million it asked for in fiscal 2026.

The Navy requested over $22 billion for overall weapons procurement, up from the approximately $10 billion requested for the same category in 2026.

The Washington Post reported on March 27 that the Pentagon was burning through Tomahawk missiles at an alarming rate, launching at least 850 Tomahawks since the Iran war began on Feb. 28.

The Center for Strategic International Studies released a report that said the U.S. likely still has close to 3,000 Tomahawk missiles in its arsenal, but the report stated the 850 missiles fired were the most ever for a single military campaign.

The next closest was 802 Tomahawks used during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The 2027 budget request, if passed, would largely replenish the bulk of the missiles used during Operation Epic Fury, notwithstanding the timeline it would take for them to be delivered.

Mark Cancian, one of the authors of the CSIS report, told Military Times in an interview that it would take two to three years to replace the 850 Tomahawks already expended.

The Navy is expecting to receive 110 Tomahawks in fiscal 2026, according to the CSIS report.

Tomahawks are ship-launched ground attack missiles that possess long-range accuracy and contain 1,000-pound warheads.

The clip at which Tomahawks are being launched is reportedly affecting Pentagon business agreements.

Japan’s order for roughly 400 Tomahawk missiles from the United States is facing potential setbacks as a result of the heavy use of the specific ammunition during the Iran war, Bloomberg News first reported.

That order was originally set to be completed by March 2028.

RTX produced 100 new missiles in 2025, Bloomberg reported.

The defense contractor also signed an agreement with the Defense Department on Feb. 4, 2026, to increase annual production of Tomahawk missiles up to 1,000 over a potential seven-year span.

With governments seeking to defend their skies as the wars in Ukraine and Iran sow global instability, Fire Point’s co-founder and chief designer Denys Shtilierman said it aimed to slash the cost of intercepting a ballistic missile to below $1 million.

Shtilierman also said Fire Point was awaiting government approval for an investment by a Middle Eastern conglomerate that valued the company at $2.5 billion and would open the door to new business opportunities, including low-orbit satellite launches.

Years of know-how gained on the battlefield fighting Russian forces have made Ukraine a leading innovator in low-cost defense tech. With the outbreak of war in the Gulf, Kyiv has leveraged that expertise to sign security agreements with governments across the region.

Many Ukrainian defense firms are now seeking to export their excess capacity and cash in on a global boom in military spending. While the government recently loosened wartime export restrictions, each proposed deal is still subject to stringent checks and state approval.

DEVELOPING AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE PATRIOT SYSTEM

Ukraine and many other Western-allied nations rely heavily on the U.S.-made Patriot system to stop ballistic missiles.

But Patriot missiles are in increasingly short supply amid extensive deployment in the Gulf against Iranian attacks. And Europe’s only anti-ballistic system, the Italo-French SAMP/T, is produced in relatively small numbers.

To bring down a ballistic projectile, the Patriot system – manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin – often requires two or three air defense missiles, each costing several million dollars, Shtilierman said.

“If we can decrease it to less than $1 million, it will be … a game changer in air defense solutions,” he said in an interview. “We plan to intercept the first ballistic missile at the end of 2027.”

Shtilierman declined to name the European companies involved in the discussions to develop the new system but said Fire Point is “deeply interested” in collaboration on radar, missile target-seeking and communications systems – areas where it lacks expertise.

European companies including Weibel, Hensoldt, SAAB and Thales have good radar solutions, he noted.

Founded after Moscow’s 2022 invasion, Fire Point is Ukraine’s biggest maker of the long-range drones used in the majority of strikes deep inside Russia.

In recent months, its FP5 long-range cruise missile – commonly known as the Flamingo – has also been used to hit Russian military facilities and arms factories, including a ballistic missile plant nearly 1,400 km (870 miles) inside Russian territory.

Shtilierman said Fire Point was now in the final stages of developing two supersonic ballistic missiles.

The smaller FP-7 missile, with a range of around 300 km, will have its first military deployment “in the close future”, he said, describing it as similar to Lockheed Martin’s ATACMS short-range ballistic system.

The larger FP-9, capable of carrying an 800 kg warhead up to 850 km, is about to enter testing and would place Moscow within range of Ukraine’s ballistic arsenal, he added.

Shtilierman said strikes on Moscow, which is ringed by some of the world’s most formidable air defenses, would cause a “mass shift in the Russian mind and the mind of top guys in Russia.”

Russia’s defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Fabian Hoffmann, a missile expert and senior researcher at the Norwegian Defence University College, said that, while Russia has experience in successfully downing ATACMS, more widespread use of ballistic missiles could stretch Russian air defenses, already degraded by Ukrainian strikes.

And while Fire Point’s 2027 target for launching a low-cost air defense system was “ambitious”, he said that, beyond Ukraine’s own military needs, there would be strong demand from governments even if its kill rates per missile were less effective than the Patriot’s.

UAE INVESTMENT COULD START SATELLITE VENTURE

Ukraine’s anti-monopoly authority has until around October to decide on the proposed $760-million acquisition of a 30% stake in Fire Point by the Middle Eastern investor, Shtilierman said.

Ukrainian media have identified the suitor as Emirati defense firm Edge Group. Edge Group and Ukraine’s anti-monopoly authorities did not respond to a request for comment.

The investment would be the first step in a project to build a space launch terminal in the UAE, with the aim of eventually establishing a constellation of low-orbit European satellites. Shtilierman said the country’s location next to the Indian Ocean and geographical conditions were favorable for space launches.

“We built a carbon winding machine, which allows us to wind a big solid rocket booster for satellite delivery,” he said, noting the project remained at the conceptual stage although there were already agreements “with a couple of Western companies”.

Regardless of whether the UAE deal proceeds, Shtilierman said Fire Point would not take on further investors until after it had demonstrated success with its missile defense system, which will use the company’s FP7 missile. .

Fire Point has, meanwhile, received interest from Gulf states for purchases of its existing drone products and is awaiting approval from Ukraine’s government to begin exports. Shtilierman said the company has monthly capacity to export up to 2,500 long-range drones.

Exporting the Flamingo missile, however, is much more difficult due to regulatory barriers, he said.

Fire Point says it makes hundreds of long-range strike drones a day, each costing about 50,000 euros ($57,775) to produce, and three Flamingo missiles, at a cost of about 600,000 euros apiece. He acknowledged some “bottleneck” issues with the Flamingo, including with engine production.

Fire Point will increase production of the Flamingo when a new, in-house engine goes into mass production in October and a rocket fuel plant in Denmark comes online later this year, he said. The plant is awaiting two final approvals from Danish authorities.

The Army is seeking prototypes for the Precision Grenadier System, which will replace the M203 and M320 grenade launchers.

In a nod to modern battlefield conditions, the PGS will incorporate drone-killing tech in addition to offering troops the capability to engage targets behind defilade such as walls.

The PGS “will be a man-portable, target engagement system that enables the squad to organically incapacitate enemy personnel targets in defilade, in close quarters battle and unmanned aerial systems with quick and precise fire,” according to the Army solicitation, which is due by May 11.

The solicitation calls for prototype submissions that include 16 weapons, fire controls systems and around 25,000 rounds of ammunition, with a mix of counter-defilade, counter-drone, close quarter battle and training rounds.

The Army plans to award two Other Transaction Agreements for prototypes. The ultimate goal is to issue two grenade launchers per rifle squad.

The hunt for a next-generation grenade goes back to the 2008 Small Arms Capabilities-Based Assessment, which examined combat lessons from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Among the findings was that the Army needed a grenade launcher that can hit targets in defilade out to 500 meters. The current 40mm M203, and its successor the M320, have an effective range of 350 meters.

“Warfighters lack the ability to achieve desired accuracy and incapacitating effects against personnel targets in defilade [protected from hostile ground observation and flat projecting fire by an obstacle, such as a wall or hill], at ranges out to 500 meters,” the small-arms study noted.

For a time, the solution appeared to be the 25mm XM25 “Punisher.” But that program was canceled in 2018 amid cost and performance concerns, leaving troops to rely on the older grenade launchers firing airburst rounds, as well as the Carl Gustaf 84mm recoilless rifle.

An RFI for the Precision Grenadier System in 2020 listed a variety of desired capabilities. In particular, it sought a breaching capability capable of blasting “solid wood doors 1.5 inches thick, windows, and gates, at 50 meters.”

It also asked for an armor-piercing round “capable of a hitting a lightly armored vehicle out to a minimum engagement distance to 500 meters day or night with an armor penetration of between 1.0 to 2.0 inches at 90 degrees rolled homogenous armor.”

The 2026 solicitation doesn’t mention breaching or anti-armor capabilities. It does call for hitting “enemy combatants, their personal equipment, and thin-skinned targets in defilade positions, while limiting collateral damage.”

The U.S. Navy spent at least six months resurrecting a high-energy laser weapon that previously graced the bow of a warship for a new military exercise last year, the service recently revealed.

The Navy’s Directed Energy Systems Integration Laboratory, or DESIL, a Naval Base Ventura County, California, facility that evaluates laser weapons in a maritime environment, “ramped up efforts to restore critical functions” to the service’s “one-of-a-kind” 150 kW Solid State Laser Technology Maturation (SSL-TM) demonstrator starting in early March 2025, according to recently published ‘year in review’ bulletin from Naval Sea Systems Command.

Initiated in 2012 and officially known as the Laser Weapon System Demonstrator Mk 2 Mod 0, the SSL-TM demonstrator was originally installed aboard the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Portland in 2019.

The system, described as the successor to the 30 kW AN/SEQ-3 Laser Weapon System — also known as the XN-1 LaWS — that was mounted on the Austin-class amphibious transport dock USS Ponce in 2014, was designed to “provide a new capability to the Fleet to address known capability gaps against asymmetric threats,” such as now-ubiquitous aerial drones and small boats laden with explosives, as well as “inform future acquisition strategies, system designs integration architectures and fielding plans for laser weapon systems,” according to Navy budget documents.

The SSL-TM demonstrator appears to have performed as advertised. The system successfully destroyed a drone target during at-sea testing in the Gulf of Aden in May 2020 — an engagement that yielded one of the most vivid representations of a real-world laser weapon in action to date — and neutralized a small surface target during additional testing in December 2021.

But while prime contractor Northrop Grumman had specifically designed the SSL-TM demonstrator for installation “with minimal modification or additional costs” aboard the Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, the service initiated the system’s deinstallation from the Portland in fiscal year 2023 after spending nearly $50 million on the effort, the budget documents say. The Defense Department’s final report on the initiative has not yet been made public.

Following the deinstallation, the SSL-TM demonstrator was presumably mothballed until the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering requested the laser weapon “play a role” in the Pentagon’s new Crimson Dragon military exercise the following September, the NAVSEA bulletin says.

Described as a weeklong, multi-unit DESIL test event, Crimson Dragon convened 20 defense contractors “in a simulated combat environment” to test the effectiveness of their drones, counter-drone systems and sensors “in scenarios that simulated military base defense, long-range fires and integrated [ballistic missile defense],” according to the bulletin.

The SSL-TM demonstrator successfully shot down four drone targets during the exercise, the bulletin says.

While it’s unclear which scenarios the SSL-TM demonstrator participated in during Crimson Dragon, an annual assessment of U.S. military weapon systems from the Pentagon’s Director, Operational Test & Evaluation released on March 16 states that part of the exercise “focused on the sea point of departure defense venues against all-domain maritime air-and-sea threats,” which suggests the system may have provided air defense for a simulated port or staging area where troops and equipment embark onto ships.

But beyond these brief mentions in recent U.S. military publications, no additional information is available regarding the current status of the SSL-TM demonstrator, its performance during Crimson Dragon and the Navy’s future plans for the system. NAVSEA, OUSD(R&E) and the Office of Naval Research did not respond to requests for more details from Laser Wars.

Without more context, it’s difficult to infer where the return of the SSL-TM demonstrator fits into the U.S. military’s expanding directed energy ambitions.

The Pentagon has not indicated whether OUSD(R&E)’s request was driven by the urgency of real-world threats — the demonstrator was first tested in the very waters where Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen had spent more than a year targeting U.S. warships and commercial shipping — or simply an opportunistic use of a capable system sitting in storage.

But the system’s restoration for Crimson Dragon potentially points to a broader challenge: despite years of testing and high-profile demonstrations, relatively few high-energy laser weapons are actually available for the kind of realistic, large-scale exercises needed to refine tactics and validate how these weapons are used in combat.

Indeed, it’s not like the Pentagon has bunch of spare laser weapons floating around to play with.

The U.S. Army’s four 50 kW Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD) systems have been completely demilitarized, while the service’s Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL) systems are preoccupied downing drones on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Marine Corps returned its five Compact Laser Weapon System (CLaWS) to Boeing. The Navy’s AN/SEQ-4 Optical Dazzling Interdictor, Navy (ODIN) laser weapons are all installed aboard active warships at sea; meanwhile, the service’s 60 kW High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS) system has had a challenging year on its own.

As a result, it appears that previously retired prototypes that might otherwise remain museum pieces are being called back into service to keep the U.S. military’s counter-drone experimentation moving forward.

The Pentagon may be racing to field laser weapons at scale, but for now it’s still relying on yesterday’s prototypes to figure out how they’ll actually fight tomorrow’s wars.

Military analysts point to several possibilities, including coastal assaults, nuclear site raids or operations deeper inside the country.

Any one of these missions could unfold alone or evolve into something more broad. But across each scenario, U.S. forces would enter an environment where Iranian missiles, drones and ground units could begin targeting them as soon as they arrive.

A battle for the waterway

One version of the fight would likely unfold along the water.

U.S. forces could be tasked with seizing islands or coastal positions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a global shipping route that has been heavily disrupted by the war with Iran.

The mission could be a limited ground incursion, with Marines and airborne units deploying to seize important terrain, said Joe Costa, director of the Forward Defense program at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center.

President Donald Trump has publicly threatened Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export hub, which is located off the country’s coast.

In a Truth Social post on Monday, he said the U.S. would finish its “stay” in Iran, by “completely obliterating” Kharg Island.

Costa, a former senior Pentagon official who worked on U.S. war plans, including Iran, acknowledged speculation about Kharg, but also described a scenario in which U.S. forces would try to secure islands such as Abu Musa, Larak and the Tunbs, off Iran’s southern coast.

“This helps us take out Iranian reconnaissance units as we think of ways to reopen Hormuz. If you have the ability to secure some of the ports along the coast as well, you go a long way to supporting naval assets to start to open up the Strait,” Costa said, adding that the operation could rely on Marine units for the initial assault, with airborne forces supporting limited incursions and air assault operations — all under U.S. air superiority.

The USS Tripoli and embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived in the region’s waters last Friday, and the elements of the 82nd Airborne Division are deploying to the Middle East, the Pentagon confirmed last week.

An opening fight would not be in isolation, Costa said, and though there are mixed reports about Iranian military capacity right now, the country still appears to have functional command and control and is capable of attacks.

The first waves of U.S. ground troops would undoubtedly face Iranian fire, Costa warned.

“We have overwhelming force and would likely be successful in securing territory, but at that point every commander will face the daily decision of assuming risk to troops or risk to mission — force protection becomes paramount, especially if we start to see casualties mount up,” he said, adding, “There’s a high risk of that in this operation.”

Targeting nuclear sites

A different type of operation would focus on Iran’s nuclear program instead of territory.

Instead of seizing ground, U.S. forces could be tasked with entering fortified sites and securing material, likely under fire and deep within Iranian territory.

An operation aimed at seizing enriched uranium would likely involve special forces at a nuclear site in Isfahan, a populous city in the center of the country, said Nicole Grajewski, an expert on Iran’s missiles and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Excavating nuclear material would require a myriad of support, from construction equipment to Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear assets, Grajewski, a professor at Sciences Po, said.

Ground forces would likely have to dig deep underground to access the highly enriched uranium canisters “and then go in there, excavate it, then get out of the country,” she added.

An extraction team would likely be met with force. The area is heavily trafficked, and the nuclear site in Isfahan is located near numerous military and missile facilities, making it exceedingly risky.

Grajewski described the operation as likely “one that the U.S. military has not really done before,” and said experts could only speculate on how it would be accomplished.

“I’m not sure how they’re thinking about doing it,” she said, pondering if “they’re going to fly in there and do this quick extraction under the guise of night?”

Iran’s response

Even targeted operations like seizing an island or extracting nuclear materials carry the risk of evolving into something larger.

Dan Grazier, the director of the National Security Reform Program at the Stimson Center, said the challenges U.S. forces may face goes beyond securing land or items. It centers on how Iran chooses to fight once American soldiers are on its ground.

“The Iranians are going to do whatever they can to kill and capture as many Americans as they can,” said Grazier, who is also a Marine Corps veteran, “for the propaganda victory alone.”

Rather than seeking decisive engagement, Iranian forces would likely avoid conventional confrontation and stretch the conflict over time, he said. Instead of defeating U.S. forces, he added, Iran’s objective becomes making the conflict costly and prolonged, forcing leaders in Washington to decide whether the fight is worth continuing.

Any sustained ground operation would also risk widening the battlefield, as Iran could activate proxy groups across the region to further target U.S. forces and partners.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies in early March estimated that the first 100 hours of the war cost billions of dollars, and experts warn that critical air defense interceptors could be depleted faster than the rate of replacement.

The human cost has also risen as the war enters its second month. Thirteen American service members had been killed and over 300 injured as of late March. A survey earlier in March found that a majority of Americans thought the war had gone too far, and a separate poll showed diminished confidence in the president’s handling of it.

“The Iranians don’t stand any chance of defeating the United States on the ground, I don’t think,” Grazier said. “They do stand a chance of defeating the United States politically back home.”

Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while holding renderings of the plans, said the ballroom “essentially becomes a [shield] for what’s being built under by the military.”

He emphasized protective features — comprising thick, high-grade bulletproof glass — will be installed as part of the ballroom’s design to protect against drones and “any other things.”

Trump said that the initiative is progressing “ahead of schedule and under budget” and reiterated that it is being financed entirely by himself and private donors.

“There’s not one dime of government money going into the ballroom,” he stressed.

“I’m so busy that I don’t have to do this, but I’m fighting wars and other things,” Trump added. “But this is very important, because this is going to be with us for a long time, and it’s going to be … the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world.”

The president complained the military’s previously clandestine undertaking only became public because of a “stupid lawsuit” that seeks to halt the endeavor.

The suit, filed in December 2025 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, contends that Trump violated at least four laws by bypassing required review processes. It asks a federal judge to suspend construction of the ballroom until the design undergoes a series of independent reviews, passes environmental assessments, secures congressional authorization and allows the public an opportunity to offer input.

A federal judge rejected the group’s initial request to pause construction but had been expected to rule by the end of March on the amended complaint, including whether to issue an injunction.

The Trump administration, however, has already begun demolishing the East Wing to make way for the project. A White House spokesperson asserted at the time that Trump has “full legal authority to modernize, renovate and beautify the White House — just like all of his predecessors did.”

The U.S. Navy officially commissioned its newest nuclear attack submarine during a Saturday ceremony at Boston Harbor, the service announced.

The USS Massachusetts, — which weighs 7,800 tons and is 377 feet long — is the 25th Virginia-class submarine and the fifth to be named after the U.S. state.

“To the crew, the plank owners, the ‘Iron Patriots’ of the USS Massachusetts, we did it,” said Cmdr. Michael Siedsma, the Massachusetts’ commanding officer. “I am amazed and humbled by what we have accomplished.”

The submarine was christened at Newport News Shipbuilding yard in Newport News, Virginia, on May 6, 2023.

Prior to the newest iteration, the most recent Navy vessel named after the New England state was a battleship that contributed to military campaigns in the Pacific between 1943 and 1945 and garnered 11 battle stars during its World War II deployment.

Virginia-class submarines offer a range of enhanced littoral and offensive capabilities, according to the Navy, including a reconfigurable torpedo room that can accommodate Special Operations Forces engaged in long deployments and offer off-board payload capabilities.

The U.S. Navy has three other classes of submarines in service, including the Ohio-class, Los-Angeles class and Seawolf-class.

An Ohio-class submarine launched over two dozen Tomahawk missiles into Iran during Operation Midnight Hammer on June 21, 2025, as part of a U.S. military offensive against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Los Angeles-class submarines have served for 40 years and is now in the process of being phased out by the Navy. Virginia-class submarines are set to replace them.

The Massachusetts is the 7th Block IV Virginia-class submarine, which can go longer between depot maintenance and offer an increased number of deployments compared to its predecessors, according to the Navy.

Blocks 1-III Virginia-class submarines are slated for four depot maintenance availabilities and 14 deployments.

The U.S. Navy is currently in the midst of production on further reinforcements for the “Silent Service.”

The Columbia-class submarine is expected to be delivered by 2028, according to a 2025 report from Congress.

In the announcement, Brian Hoffman, chief engineer of NSWC Crane’s Man-Portable Weapons, explained that the ammo works much like a shotshell in that it disperses a cluster of projectiles, but it’s designed to be fired from a service rifle or machine gun instead of a shotgun.

“The intent with our ammunition was to simply give operators a better chance of killing drones with cost-effective products that can be used in existing weapons,” Hoffman said in the release. “If you aren’t the world’s best shot or don’t have a lot of experience engaging aerial targets, your odds go up immediately with DKC.”

The cartridge’s design, coupled with the range and velocity of typical centerfire rifle ammo, increases the probability of “hit and kill” against drones, Hoffman said.

In a recent demonstration at Indiana’s Camp Atterbury, DKC achieved a 92% success rate.

Hoffman explained that the DKC product line is “already mature” and applicable for not just killing drones but also “home defense, personal protection and hunting.”

And if it sounds like he’s pitching the product line, that’s because he is. The other part of NSWC Crane’s announcement is that it’s looking for partners to manufacture DKC ammo.

The tech link

Hoffman explained that the Navy typically relies on the Army for small-caliber ammunition under the Single Manager for Conventional Ammunition directive. However, it procures ammo through government contracts with industry partners if not supported by the SMCA.

For that reason, NSWC Crane’s announcement was also featured on TechLink, a Defense Department-funded organization run by Montana State University that helps businesses license technology from federal laboratories.

Using the website, manufacturers can license and commercialize products, like DKC ammo, which have been fully developed and patented by the federal government. The intent behind the project is to help veterans, the military and small businesses.

As small drones are now seen as a common weapon on the battlefield, military and other agency leaders project needing millions of DKC rounds, Hoffman said.

“Ongoing conflicts abroad and operational requirements along the U.S. southern border highlight the immediate utility of DKC and its enhanced yet cost-effective capabilities,” he said in the release.

Exactly who is going to manufacture the ammo has not yet been announced. However, Hoffman added that NSWC Crane recently hosted a DKC-licensing event attended by several U.S. ammo makers, and they received even more interest because of the announcement.

Still, Hoffman said DKC ammo production will evolve in the not-too-distant future.

“Given projected requirements, meeting total DKC quantities will likely involve a combination of (Government‑Owned, Contractor‑Operated) production and licensed industry partners operating in parallel,” he said.