Center for Defense Concepts and Technology

US Air Force Airman 1st Class Austin House, 388th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, marshals an F-35A Lightning II from underneath a hardened facility on January 24, 2018, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. (US Air Force)

Uncrewed aerial systems from Skyways and PteroDynamics sit on the flight deck of the guidedmissile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54) on June 25, 2024. (US Navy)

The final piece of the underwater hull of the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) is lowered into place at Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia on September 28, 2018. (US Navy photo courtesy of Huntington Ingalls Industries by John Whalen)

US Army Paratroopers descend to drop zone in Rhode Island on August 3, 2024. (DVIDS)

(Screenshot via YouTube)

An F-35 Lightning II test pilot conducts flight test on September 10. (DVIDS)

Vanilla, an ultra long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, awaits deployment in Guam on June 13, 2024. (DVIDS)

Sgt. Hunter Heinsohn and Cpl. Adam Domagalaski coordinate an electronic attack 6-line during a field training exercise in Oita Prefecture, Japan, on October 22, 2023. (DVIDS)

Sailors prepare an E/A-18G Growler for launch aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea on April 16, 2024. (DVIDS)

(Screenshot via YouTube)

Bryan Wells, Steve Walker, Rand Waldron and Bryan Clark at the NATO Public Forum on July 11, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Madeline Yarbrough)

A naval drone “Magura” is displayed during the presentation of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on June 11, 2024, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Valentyna Polishchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)