special ops series ldrs

SEALs Test New Mini Sub To Stay Dry, Ship To Shore

SOCOM's first Dry Combat Submersible is undergoing a year of testing by the Navy to work out new technologies, including a new power source, before moving forward.

Special Ops: ‘Further Behind Than We Know’ On New Tech

“We had owned the air space and the EW spectrum,” said SOCOM acquisition chief James Smith. “I would argue that has already turned. We are in a contested environment, where we have to fight for airspace and EW spectrum. It’s contested.”

SOCOM’s Hyper-Enabled Operator: Will It Work This Time?

"You know, there is no Tony Stark, but the idea is there that in the future, in the operating environment, it's going to be increasingly complex, dynamic and lethal,” Gen. Richard Clarke, head of SOCOM.

Counterterror Mission Blends Into Competition With China, Russia: How SOCOM Copes

''As we look at the lethality, precision and mobility requirements as examples, we absolutely have to develop them so that they can compete and win with Russia and China,” SOCOM commander Gen. Richard Clarke says.

SOCOM Looking To Bake In AI Requirements On Every New Program

"We need coders," the Special Operations chief said recently. "We've been having discussions internally that the most important person on the mission is no longer the operator kicking down the door, but the cyber operator."

SOCOM Multi-Mission Plane Competition Heats Up

SOCOM has budgeted $106 million in 2021 to buy the first five of up to 75 Armed Overwatch aircraft to perform close air support for its troops on the ground, light attack and ISR missions. The planes would replace Air Force Special Operations Command current fleet of U-28 Draco aircraft.