Elbit Systems revealed plans to develop high-power laser weapons to be mounted on Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets and military helicopters, announced during the company's 2025 financial results briefing; technical details and timeline remain classified.

The move is driven directly by lessons from Operation Epic Fury, where Israel has been absorbing sustained Iranian missile and drone barrages; the ground-based Rafael Iron Beam laser system became operational at the end of 2025, but atmospheric conditions, dust, and turbulence at ground level limit its effectiveness.

Elbit's CEO framed airborne lasers as a solution to both those physical constraints and to range: flying above clouds removes atmospheric interference, extends effective range, and enables engagement of threats far from Israeli territory before they arrive; he also hinted at potential offensive applications, noting "high-power laser is not just a defensive weapon."

Two Phantom MK-1 humanoid robots — standing 5.9 feet tall, built by U.S.-based Foundation Future Industries — have been sent to Kyiv, marking the first deployment of a purpose-built defense humanoid to an active combat theater; the platform was developed with $24 million in funding from the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Each unit can carry up to 88 pounds of mission payload, including rifles and shotguns, moves with 19 degrees of freedom at up to one meter per second, and is designed to support reconnaissance and reduce personnel exposure in high-risk environments; the developer says human authorization is required before any combat engagement per Pentagon protocols.

The platform is also being evaluated for potential use along the U.S. southern border and is scheduled for a Marine Corps obstacle-course assessment in April; the Foundation's co-founder noted that the 19-degree articulation creates maintenance complexity, and upgrades to security and mobility are planned before that debut.

California-based Swarm Aero has raised $59 million to build Legion, a command-and-control (C2) software architecture that enables a single operator to direct dozens of large unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) simultaneously during complex missions — extending swarming tactics beyond the small-drone domain to larger, longer-range, higher-payload platforms.

The company argues that large UAVs address limitations inherent to small drone swarms — shorter range, higher per-operator workload — and that coordinated formations of oversized platforms can deliver asymmetric advantages against high-value targets at comparatively low cost, with combined sensing and strike capabilities in a single airframe.

Swarm Aero plans to double its workforce this year to expand its aircraft division alongside software development; the Legion architecture is being positioned as an integration layer for military UAS fleets, aligning directly with the Pentagon's broader push toward scalable, cost-effective autonomous systems that can overwhelm adversary defenses through mass.

The Pentagon's acting comptroller, Jules Hurst, confirmed that nearly all of the $153 billion in reconciliation funds from the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act has already been apportioned to the services and program managers, with only $1.3 billion remaining unallocated, as the department finalizes a fiscal year 2027 (FY27) budget request reported to total $1.5 trillion.

Hurst said the $1.5 trillion figure was reached only after significant trimming: "We had more ideas and more concepts on how to spend the money, and then we had to deal with [it]. And so we took a long time to trim that down to the most essential things," adding that the proportions will mirror the Reagan administration with heavy emphasis on procurement and research and development.

The budget comes as Congress is also considering a separate $50 billion supplemental to fund Operation Epic Fury, and Hurst confirmed that Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) remains "alive and well" in the Pentagon comptroller's office, having helped identify and eliminate programs deemed no longer essential.

Pentagon Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael disclosed at the McAleese Defense Programs conference that the U.S. military had "dozens" — not thousands — of Low-cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones available when Operation Epic Fury began, because they were not in full-rate production at the time: "We shipped what we had."

LUCAS, built by Arizona-based SpektreWorks, costs $55,000 or less per unit, has a reported 500-mile range, an 8-foot wingspan, and autonomy and swarming capabilities; it is modeled on Iran's Shahed-136 drone and represents the centerpiece of the Pentagon's Drone Dominance Program (DDP), which aims to manufacture disposable one-way attack drones at a massive scale.

Despite the thin initial inventory, Michael said the platforms "work very well so far" and represent "the future" of what the department is trying to do; the disclosure underscores a critical industrial base gap — the U.S. can design and field compelling attritable drone concepts, but has not yet built the manufacturing pipeline to produce them at the volumes that peer conflict demands.

The Space Force has now established all of its mission-focused Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) offices, including dedicated portfolios for Space Control; Electronic Warfare, Cyber Warfare, and Orbital Warfare; and Integration, according to Tom Ainsworth, who is performing duties as the Air Force's assistant secretary for Space Acquisition and Integration.

The nine PAEs collectively implement Defense Secretary Hegseth's wide-ranging acquisition reforms; the newly confirmed offices also include Missile Warning and Tracking, Infrastructure, Battle Management/C2/Space Intelligence, and Satellite Communication and Positioning, Navigation & Timing (PNT) — which together cover everything from commercial satellite integration to early warning constellations now falling under the Space Development Agency (SDA).

Ainsworth said the Space Force is "serious" about integrating cislunar capabilities and will partner with NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to develop and mature emerging technologies for that domain; the creation of a dedicated Space Control PAE signals an institutional commitment to offensive and defensive space operations that goes beyond the traditional communications and surveillance focus of prior acquisition structures.

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCC) and the highest-ranking official to resign over the Iran war, submitted his resignation on Tuesday, writing in a letter to President Trump that "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation" and that he could not in good conscience support the ongoing conflict.

Trump responded that he "always thought he was weak on security," and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Kent's letter full of "false claims," while Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard's office issued a statement affirming Trump had concluded Iran posed an imminent threat based on all available intelligence; Kent is a special forces and CIA veteran whose wife was killed in a 2019 suicide bombing in Syria.

The resignation is politically significant because Kent was a Trump ally — confirmed in July 2025 after a February nomination — and represents the most prominent public break yet from within the administration over a war that has now killed 13 U.S. service members, wounded more than 200, and is entering its fourth week with no ceasefire in sight.

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