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War Department refocuses on AI, hypersonics and directed energy in major strategy overhaul
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EXCLUSIVE – The War Department is narrowing its research and development strategy to six «Critical Technology Areas» officials say will speed up innovation and strengthen America’s military edge.
Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael said the plan will deliver faster, more focused results to the warfighter by merging overlapping programs and steering funding toward technologies that will shape future conflicts.
«As the Department of War’s Chief Technology Officer, I am statutorily charged with the mission of advancing technology and innovation for the armed forces,» Michael wrote in a Nov. 13 memorandum to senior Pentagon and combatant command leadership. «The previous list of fourteen CTAs did not provide the focus that the threat environment of today requires.»
The six areas—Applied Artificial Intelligence, Biomanufacturing, Contested Logistics Technologies, Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance, Scaled Directed Energy and Scaled Hypersonics — will be advanced through rapid «sprints» designed to move emerging technologies from prototype to production.
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The Pentagon is seen from a flight taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the streamlined approach will keep the United States ahead of its rivals.
«Our nation’s military has always been the tip of the spear,» Hegseth said. «Under Secretary Emil Michael’s six Critical Technology Areas will ensure that our warriors never enter a fair fight and have the best systems in their hands for maximum lethality.»
The initiative also aligns with President Donald Trump’s Artificial Intelligence Action Plan, which directs the War Department to become an «AI-First» organization.
Officials say the shift will reshape how intelligence is processed, how logistics are managed and how weapons systems are deployed.
«In alignment with President Trump’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan, the Department of War must become an ‘AI-First’ organization,» Michael wrote. «When adopted rapidly, AI will fundamentally transform the Department from the enterprise-level, to intelligence synthesis and to warfighting.»
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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives for a news conference at the Pentagon, June 22, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Michael’s plan emphasizes resilience and self-sufficiency on the battlefield. Biomanufacturing will create bio-based materials to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, while Contested Logistics Technologies will help U.S. forces sustain operations in contested or denied environments.
The goal, he said, is to ensure troops can fight and resupply even when traditional lines are cut. Each new technology area is meant to reinforce that capability.
«Future warfare will likely be characterized by contested environments in which the Joint Force is challenged to surge, operate into and within the operational theater, and resupply, reconstitute, and recover forces,» Michael wrote. «This CTA will enable the demonstration, validation, and scaling of novel approaches and technologies.»
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Artificial intelligence and quantum computing are among the six new technology areas the War Department says will shape future U.S. military operations. (Getty Images)
Other priorities include quantum computing for secure battlefield communications, scaled directed energy systems such as high-energy lasers and high-power microwave weapons, and the expansion of hypersonic capabilities for both offensive and defensive missions.
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Each effort depends on close coordination between the Pentagon, private industry and allied militaries to ensure the technologies reach the field quickly.
«Executing these sprints will require unprecedented coordination between the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, military departments, combatant commands and other Office of the Secretary of War components,» Michael said. «I am committed to working with you and our partners inside and outside of the Department on these efforts.»
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It goes against the very instincts of some of the most powerful officials in the U.S.: get all dressed up, appear before a national TV audience, but sit there like statues without betraying any words or emotion.
For members of the Supreme Court, enduring the annual State of the Union address is a civic exercise in poker-faced discretion. As recent history has shown, that has not always been easy.
Tuesday’s speech by President Donald Trump will be watched closely not only for what is said, but also for who will be there in person to hear it — especially an undetermined number of justices with front-row seats.
This year’s appearances are especially of interest, coming four days after a 6-3 majority of the court struck down the president’s sweeping tariffs, in a sweeping setback to his economic agenda.
Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett and retired Justice Anthony Kennedy attend President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2025. (Win McNamee/Pool via Reuters)
Trump lashed out sharply at the court, especially the six members who voted against him, including two he appointed to the bench — Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett.
The president said he was «ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed for not having the courage to do what’s right for the country.»
At least one member of the bench, Justice Samuel Alito, has previously stated he will likely no longer go — after lingering, dramatic criticism leveled at a court ruling by Obama in his 2010 address.
But one or more justices have almost always attended the annual speech to Congress and the nation in recent decades. Court members are not required by law to be there, but custom has dictated their appearance, mostly for show. They are a key, if low-key, part of the pageantry, and are compelled to sit politely and stoically, amid the often high-spirited partisan rhetoric and response of the event.
There is no word yet from the high court on who will appear. Invitations are sent to each chamber, and the justices have individual discretion over whether to go.
Those who do traditionally wear their judicial robes, are escorted into the House as a group, and take prominent seats up front.
Retired justices usually get asked as well, minus the robes. They are joined by other officers of the court, such as the marshal and clerk.
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Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Elana Kagan, along with former Justices Stephen Breyer and Anthony Kennedy, have been regular attendees over the years.
Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett and retired Justice Anthony Kennedy attend President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress, March 4, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
But the ceremony put the justices in a highly uncomfortable position in 2010.
Democrats cheered President Barack Obama when he dressed down high court conservatives for its ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, issued a week earlier, which removed legal barriers preventing corporations and unions from spending unlimited sums on federal elections.
«With all due deference to the separation of powers,» Obama said, «the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections.»
Alito, sitting just feet away in the audience, shook his head and mouthed words interpreted as «not true,» referring to the line about «foreign corporations,» court sources later confirmed.
Alito’s five fellow justices in attendance showed no emotion.
He had been a regular at previous addresses, but months after the incident, Alito told an audience in New York that he felt «like the proverbial potted plant» and would not be attending in the near future. In fact, the year after the presidential dress-down, Alito was in Hawaii at a law school symposium.
Justices pose for an official group portrait at the Supreme Court building on Capitol Hill on Oct. 7, 2022, following the addition of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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The now 75-year-old justice also, with a smile, noted that his colleagues «who are more disciplined, refrain from manifesting any emotion or opinion whatsoever.»
Roberts labeled the political atmosphere at the 2010 address «very troubling.»
The head of the federal judiciary has said partisan rhetoric and gestures aimed at the court left him questioning whether his colleagues should continue to attend.
During that 2010 address, members of Congress sat just behind the justices, many applauding loudly when Obama made his remarks about the court’s election spending case, especially Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
«It does cause me to think whether or not it makes sense for us to be there» Roberts said weeks after the controversy. «To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I’m not sure why we’re there.»
Then-White House press secretary Robert Gibbs responded quickly at the time with an indirect attack on Roberts, saying «the only thing troubling» was the Citizens United ruling itself.
Regardless, Roberts has never missed a State of the Union as chief justice.
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That included 2021 with President Joe Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress that was limited in attendance because of the pandemic. The sparse, widely-separated crowd included Roberts, a few Cabinet officers and a smattering of congressional members, all wearing masks.
Some justices were regular no-shows at the State of the Union, including John Paul Stevens, who stepped down from the court months after the 2010 State of the Union.
Roberts’ predecessor, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, also rarely appeared in person, once because he considered a painting class more preferable.
Justice Clarence Thomas called it «very uncomfortable for a judge to sit there.» He went to Obama’s first annual address in 2009, but has not been back since.
«There’s a lot that you don’t hear on TV,» he once said, «the catcalls, the whooping, hollering and under-the breath comments.»
Another more vocal no-go was the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who compared the televised State of the Union to «cheerleading sessions.»
President Donald Trump talks to Chief Justice John Roberts on the day of his speech to a joint session of Congress, at the U.S. Capitol, March 4, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
«I don’t know at what point that happened, but it has happened, and now you go and sit there like bumps on a log while applause lines cause one half of the Congress to leap up while [another line] causes the other half to leap up,» he once said. «It is a juvenile spectacle. And I resent being called upon to give it dignity.»
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He last attended the event in 1997, but did attend a special joint session of Congress after the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001, with four other justices.
Scalia, a generally verbose and animated jurist, said bluntly: «You just sit there, looking stupid.»
Even remarks touching on supposedly nonpartisan topics like patriotism, war veterans and puppy dogs leave the justices in a quandary: should they applaud, should they stand and applaud or do neither? The protocols are never clear, and the public might view the court members as aloof or uncaring if they offer no reaction during, say, a salute to Martin Luther King Jr.’s memory, when everyone else is shown engaging in bipartisan applause in the chamber.
One «extra-court-ricular» event that is a must-attend for the Supreme Court is the presidential inauguration. All nine members were at last year’s public swearing-in for Trump to a second four-year term. Roberts and Kavanaugh had official duties to administer the oaths of office to the president and vice president, respectively, but the other seven justices only had to sit there, again quietly, in the Capitol Rotunda.
Breyer is the one justice who might be called a «regular» at the State of the Union, going to nearly all of them since joining the court in 1994, including one in his retirement.
He missed President Bill Clinton’s last annual address in 2000 because of the flu. That year, no justices were in attendance.
Many believe the justices have to go to such events, that it is just another unwanted chore of office. Not so, Breyer told us in 2005. «People attend if they wish to attend. I do wish to attend, so I go.»
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President Donald Trump is set to deliver his fourth State of the Union address of his presidency on Feb. 24, 2026. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Here’s a list of Supreme Court members attending recent State of the Union or equivalent Joint Session of Congress addresses in recent years, based on Fox News research and congressional records. Names are listed by seniority:
– 2025: John Roberts, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Anthony Kennedy (retired)
– 2024: Roberts, Sonia Sotomayor, Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Kennedy (retired)
– 2023: Roberts, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson, Kennedy, Stephen Breyer (retired)
– 2022: Roberts, Breyer, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Barrett
– 2021: Roberts (limited speech attendance because of pandemic)
– 2020: Roberts, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh
– 2019: Roberts, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh
– 2018: Roberts, Breyer, Kagan, Gorsuch
– 2017: Roberts, Kennedy, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan
– 2016: Roberts, Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan
– 2015: Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan
– 2014: Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan
– 2013: Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan
– 2012: Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan
– 2011: Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan
– 2010: Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sotomayor
– 2009: Roberts, Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Alito
– 2008: Roberts, Kennedy, Breyer, Alito
– 2007: Roberts, Kennedy, Breyer, Alito
– 2006: Roberts, Thomas, Breyer, Alito
– 2005: Breyer
– 2004: Breyer
– 2003: Breyer
– 2002: Kennedy, Breyer
– 2001: Breyer
– 2000: None
– 1999: Sandra Day O’Connor, Kennedy, David Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer
– 1998: William Rehnquist, O’Connor, Souter, Thomas, Breyer
– 1997: Antonin Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Byron White (retired)
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– 1996: Rehnquist, O’Connor, Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer
– 1995: Rehnquist, O’Connor, Scalia, Ginsburg, Breyer, Harry Blackmun (retired)
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Iran nears China anti-ship supersonic missile deal as US carriers mass in region: report
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Iran is nearing a deal with China to acquire supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, a move that could significantly raise the stakes in the Middle East as U.S. carrier strike groups assemble within striking distance of the Islamic Republic.
Reuters reported Tuesday that Tehran is close to finalizing an agreement for Chinese-made CM-302 missiles, citing six people with knowledge of the negotiations.
The supersonic weapons, which can travel roughly 180 miles and fly low to evade ship defenses, would enhance Iran’s ability to target U.S. naval forces operating in the region.
The deal is near completion, though no delivery date has been agreed, the people said. It is unclear how many missiles are involved, how much Iran has agreed to pay, or whether China will ultimately proceed given heightened regional tensions.
The CM-302 supersonic anti-ship missile weapon system is shown during the Zhuhai Airshow in Zhuhai, China, Nov. 2, 2016. (Dickson Lee/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)
Reuters reported that negotiations accelerated after last year’s 12-day war between Israel and Iran, which left Tehran’s military infrastructure strained and heightened regional tensions.
The reported deal comes as President Donald Trump warns Tehran of consequences if it fails to curb its nuclear program, while the Pentagon has deployed multiple carrier strike groups to the region, including the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Gerald R. Ford. The buildup marks one of the largest U.S. naval deployments in the region in recent years.
Trump said on Feb. 19 he was giving Iran 10 days to reach an agreement over its nuclear program or face potential military action.
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The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln docks at Souda Bay on the Greek Mediterranean island of Crete, Feb. 24, 2026, following orders by U.S. President Donald Trump to increase the American naval presence in the region. (Costas Metaxakis/AFP via Getty Images)
A White House official told Fox News Digital that the president remains firm that Iran cannot develop nuclear weapons or enrich uranium.
«The President would like to see a deal negotiated, but he has been clear that ‘either we will make a deal or we will have to do something very tough like last time,’» the official said when asked for comment on the reported approaching Iran-China deal.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week appeared to threaten U.S. warships directly.
«More dangerous than that warship is the weapon that can send that warship to the bottom of the sea,» Khamenei wrote on Feb. 17 on X.
Military analysts say a Chinese transfer of supersonic anti-ship missiles could complicate U.S. naval operations in the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters.
«It’s a complete game-changer if Iran has supersonic capability to attack ships in the area,» Danny Citrinowicz, a former Israeli intelligence officer and senior Iran researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, told Reuters. «These missiles are very difficult to intercept.»
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The reported deal comes as President Donald Trump, left, warns Tehran of consequences if it fails to curb its nuclear program. Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is pictured right. (Chip Somodevilla; Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu)
Still, U.S. forces maintain layered defenses against Iranian threats, including Patriot missile batteries, Navy destroyers equipped with Standard Missile interceptors and F-35 stealth fighters, Fox News Digital reported.
Last year, Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean intercepted Iranian ballistic missiles using SM-3 interceptors, while Marine Corps F-35Cs operating from the USS Abraham Lincoln shot down Iranian drones that approached U.S. assets, according to U.S. Central Command.
Iran has also relied on swarming fast boats, ballistic missiles and drones in past confrontations with U.S. forces.
The White House did not directly address the reported missile negotiations when asked by Reuters. China’s foreign ministry told the outlet it was not aware of the talks.
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The potential transfer would mark one of the most advanced Chinese weapons systems supplied to Iran in decades and could test U.S. sanctions authorities if finalized.
As U.S. forces fan out across the region, defense officials have stressed that the buildup is designed to deter Iranian aggression — but warned they are prepared for combat if diplomacy fails.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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