Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has “reviewed and concurred with the ongoing development” of the Air Force-Navy AirSea Battle concept, an Office of the Secretary of Defense official told the Daily Report. That statement builds upon the more vague comments on the status of the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s blessing made by defense officials last week during a background briefing on the fledgling concept and its newly unveiled office. The new ASB office, staffed by USAF, Marine Corps, and Navy personnel, will play three roles, according to those officials. First, as a multi-service organization, it will facilitate the “interservice and interagency coordination during the development, maturation, and implementation of the concept,” said one of them. Second, it will supervise the implementation of manning, training, and equipping of “integrated air and naval forces,” said this same official. Third, the office will oversee the concept’s execution “over time,” according to the official. For more on AirSea Battle, continue to A Work in Progress
Pentagon Task Force, FAA to Test Counter-Drone Laser
March 7, 2026
The Pentagon’s counter-drone task force announced it would conduct a high-energy laser test with the Federal Aviation Administration less than a month after the use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border prompted the FAA to shut down the airspace over El Paso, Texas.