Tech & Tactics

News, explainers, and analysis about military tech and tactics.

Latest in Tech & Tactics

The Polaris MRZR Alpha 6x6 is designed to fit inside transports like the MV-22B Osprey, allowing it to be transported to places other vehicles can't reach.

This 6-wheeled dune-buggy could be how troops get resupplied in the future

By Jeff Schogol

Posted 11 Hours Ago

A photo of Anduril's EagleEye system.

The battery for this next-gen headset is built into the ballistic plate

By Patty Nieberg

Posted 13 Hours Ago

A U.S. Marine with Maritime Special Purpose Force, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, operates a drone during a simulated raid exercise as part of the Marine Expeditionary Unit Exercise at the Tier 1 Group compound near Memphis, Tennessee, Jan. 16, 2025. MEUEX is the 22nd MEU's first large-scale exercise as a composited Marine Air-Ground Task Force, focusing on split operations with consolidated command and control to enhance readiness for its upcoming deployment. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Tanner Bernat)

AI in special operations will always have ‘a human in the loop,’ top officer says

By Matt White, Jeff Schogol

Posted 15 Hours Ago

A US marine from Regimental Combat Team-8 walks between accommodation tents at Forward Operating Base Delaram in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan on April 4, 2011. Around 140,000 foreign troops are deployed in Afghanistan within the UN-mandated, NATO-led, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the US-led coalition Operation Enduring Freedom, which overthrew the Taliban in late 2001. AFP PHOTO/Peter PARKS (Photo credit should read PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images)

Drones could mean the end of sprawling bases seen during Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

By Jeff Schogol

Posted Yesterday

A joint special forces team move together out of a U.S. Air Force CV-22 Osprey Feb. 26, 2018, at Melrose Training Range, New Mexico. At Emerald Warrior, the largest joint and combined special operations exercise, U.S. Special Operations Command forces train to respond to various threats across the spectrum of conflict. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Clayton Cupit)

Special operators need to be ‘lethal but also technically fluent,’ commander says

By Jeff Schogol

Posted Yesterday

An OA-1K Skyraider II comes in for a landing on a dirt path July 10 on the Eglin Air Force Base, Florida range. The new Air Force Special Operations Command aircraft continues developmental testing with the 96th Test Wing and the U.S. Special Operations Command at Eglin. (Courtesy image)

Air Force now has 18 of its new Skyraider II ‘Swiss Army Knife’ aircraft, official says

By Jeff Schogol

Posted Yesterday

An Army Ranger assigned to 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, conducts a squad live fire exercise at Fort Benning, Georgia, May 13, 2025.

SOCOM wants to move fast on new tech: ‘We’re not building aircraft carriers here’

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on May 18, 2026

Spc. Brandon Mack, a small unmanned aircraft system operator assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Combat Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, looks through his SMASH 2000L optic, a counter-sUAS tracking scope developed by SMARTSHOOTER, during rotation 26-02 at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California, Nov. 2, 2025. The rotation marks the first armored Transforming in Contact (TiC) 2.0 combat training center rotation, where new concepts and emerging capabilities were tested in realistic, contested scenarios. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Julian A. Winston)

Army orders rifle-mounted smart scopes to down small drones

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on May 15, 2026

Marine Corps AI Course 2026

Marines must complete new course on the ‘practical application’ of AI

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on May 13, 2026

Air Force HH-60

Air Force rescue units awarded rare Presidential Unit Citation

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on May 12, 2026

The LOCUST directed-energy system was deployed to the southern border earlier this year, and tested at White Sands Missile Range. AeroVironment Inc. photo.

Pentagon names five bases that will get anti-drone energy weapons

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on May 8, 2026

Air Force Weapons

Air Force cargo hub stored weapons in unguarded building, IG finds

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on May 6, 2026

Amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) steams through the Pacific Ocean, April 8, 2026. John P. Murtha is underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations supporting NASA’s Artemis II mission, retrieving the crew and spacecraft following their return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. NASA’s Artemis II mission sent four astronauts on a flight around the moon in the Orion space capsule, marking the first time humans journeyed to deep space in over 50 years. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kenneth Melseth)

Amphibious Operations

The Marines may need 40 amphibious warfare ships, general says

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Apr 29, 2026

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Taylor Britain, an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team leader with the 74th EOD Company, conducts pre-flight checks for the 25th Infantry Division Kestrel First-Person View (FPV) drone during a First-Person View (FPV) drone live-fire exercise at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Oct. 17, 2025. Britain developed the firing system, including a mechanical and electronic safety feature on the Kestrel FPV drone. The United States Army Pacific (USARPAC) will conduct Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) Rotation 26-01 from Oct. 28 to Nov. 16, 2025, in and around the Hawaiian island chain. This exercise is designed to validate the combat readiness of the 3rd Mobile Brigade (3MBDE), 25th Infantry Division Artillery (DIVARTY), and the 125th Division Signal Battalion in a joint, multinational, multi-domain training environment. JPMRC 26-01 will integrate U.S. forces, multinational partners, and joint capabilities to train tactics, techniques, and procedures required to dominate jungle and archipelagic terrain during large-scale combat operations. The exercise underscores the U.S. Army’s commitment to ensuring regional security and strengthening partnerships in the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Duke Edwards)

Pentagon’s drone strategy calls for putting $54 billion DAWG in the fight

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Apr 27, 2026

Green Beret's assigned to the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) conduct security for a routine training exercise in which 1st SFG (A) teams train in simulated real-world combat scenarios at Okinawa, Japan, March 21, 2026. 1st SFG (A) conducts special operations throughout the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command areas of responsibility, in order to support command objectives and U.S. national interests. The group maintains and employs units of action to execute the full spectrum of special operations at a moment's notice with allies, partners, and the joint force. Committed to excellence and pursuit of tactical mastery, the group aims to uphold the legacy as the Indo-Pacific’s preferred, and most lethal special operations entity. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Javen Owens)

Special Operations Command lays out high-tech wish list

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Apr 26, 2026

A U.S Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 225, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, takes off from the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) in the Tsushima Strait, Sept. 18, 2024.

Fighter Aircraft

How the F-35 is changing Marine airpower

Posted on Apr 23, 2026