Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones are positioned on the tarmac at a base in the U.S. Central Command operating area, Nov. 23. (DVIDS -Courtesy Photo)
Charles Worthington, chief artificial intelligence officer at Department of Veterans Affairs, testifies during a House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health hearing in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 15, 2024. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
From left, Sens. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Mark Warner, D-Va., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, attend a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee markup in the Dirksen building on July 29, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, makes an announcement aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in the Arabian Sea, Feb. 7, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sonny Escalante)
A U.S. Air Force XQ-58A Valkyrie, an autonomous, low-cost tactical unmanned air vehicle, flies over Eglin Air Force Base’s Gulf Test and Training Range. (U.S. Air Force photo by Ilka Cole)