U.S. Defense and Coast Guard Boost AI, Drone Capabilities with Major Funding

Responding to a White House science report, the Department of War is rolling out a comprehensive modernization plan that includes a partnership with the National Science Foundation, a $40 million AI Forge investment and a $200 million allocation for Programmable Cloud Labs in fiscal 2028. Assistant Secretary Joseph Jewell said the effort balances rapid innovation with protection of federally funded research, and new metascience-based metrics will evaluate the department’s laboratories and research centers.

The agency also launched the Center for Defense Academic Research, initiating the Problem-Based Basic Research Consortium and a Translational Research Initiative that pair academic teams with military labs, and awarded 750 STEM scholarships. Concurrently, the Coast Guard awarded General Atomics a $247.8 million contract for four MQ-9B long-range unmanned aircraft systems, ground stations and support gear, expanding its ability to monitor offshore waters, support search-and-rescue, combat drug trafficking and conduct ISR missions. This procurement is part of the historic $25 billion capital investment passed by Congress, which also funds new Arctic cutters and a $400 million upgrade of the Coast Guard’s training center in New Jersey.