March 2026
Eleven combatant commands maintain the U.S. military’s defense posture throughout the world. Each aligns to a specific geographic or functional mission, designed to streamline operations and encourage cooperation among military branches.
MITRE’s national security efforts directly support key military readiness, command and control, and operations, synchronizing with our many stakeholders and their individual mission objectives.
Takeaway: MITRE provides every unified command and Service branch with technical readiness to successfully scale operations. We enable the U.S., our allies, and partners to anticipate and overcome looming national security problems — challenges that demand integration across missions, capabilities, organizations, and nations.
10-minute read time
RESEARCH & PROTOTYPING
14 MITRE Patents Selected for DoW Program
The federal government recently launched a “try before you buy” program that offers industry temporary licenses to a curated portfolio of defense technologies. Fourteen MITRE patents were chosen for the Department of War’s Defense Patent Holiday, which was designed to help ease companies’ ability to adopt the new technologies, speed commercialization pathways, and accelerate mission-focused innovation.
The goal: The pilot is part of a larger push — and top MITRE priority — to get technology into the hands of the warfighter faster.
Leverage MITRE innovation: We want industry to leverage the intellectual property MITRE has created to advance the nation’s security and prosperity. As such, our temporary licenses are not limited to the 14 chosen for the holiday — our entire suite of licenses is available under this arrangement. Contact our tech transfer office for details.
PIN DROP
Rep. Don Bacon Tours Omaha Site
When U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) visited MITRE’s Omaha site last month, he made clear his top national security priority: ensuring a survivable nuclear command, control, and communications architecture.
Most of that work is done at our Nebraska site, which supports the critical efforts of U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), overseers of the nation’s nuclear deterrent, global strike capabilities, and related space and missile defense operations. Bacon and MITRE leaders discussed how technical integration and clear governance can accelerate delivery of new technology to USSTRATCOM.
CULTURE IN ACTION
A Lifelong Interest in China Feeds Intel Career
Looking back at her path from 12-year-old Mandarin student to China subject-matter expert and project leader, Asha Clark is grateful her passion preceded her career plans. The intel strategy and policy principal joined MITRE in 2024 as a lead China-Taiwan analyst. Today, she supports the Office of the Director of National Intelligence through policy and intelligence work involving multiple agencies.
Bigger picture: Clark’s deep cultural understanding provides a critical foundation for understanding the nuanced complexities in and around China. “As a person who’s culturally, linguistically, and historically focused, I believe it’s always a good course of action to understand views that are different from your own — even when you don’t agree,” she says.
SITE LAUNCH
MITRE Strengthens Presence in Indo-Pacific with New Honolulu Site
U.S. Indo-Pacific Combatant Command (USINDOPACOM), headquartered in Hawaii, is the oldest and largest unified combatant command, responsible for 375,000 service members and more than 100 million square miles, or 52 percent of the Earth’s surface! Our new Honolulu site reinforces MITRE’s support of this strategic national security and diplomatic hub.
Bottom line: “For more than 50 years, MITRE has stood shoulder to shoulder with our partners in Hawaii and across the Indo-Pacific,” CEO Mark Peters said at the dedication ceremony. “This new Honolulu site reflects both continuity and urgency — a sustained commitment to this community and a clear focus on a mission environment defined by speed, scale, and interconnectedness.”
INTERNATIONAL IMPACT
Deterrence Reality Check: MITRE at the Munich Security Conference
The transatlantic security environment is evolving rapidly with adversaries quickly integrating, adapting, and fielding advanced new capabilities. The alliances designed to deter them must keep pace. Against that backdrop, MITRE’s Europe team arrived at the 62nd Munich Security Conference (MSC) to discuss the future state of a shifting international landscape.
The future requires speed: Keoki Jackson, senior vice president and general manager of MITRE National Security, moderated an MSC panel discussion focused on deterrence. Panelists agreed that future conflict will reward scale, tempo, and integration: sense first, decide faster, and deliver effects across domains.
ICYMI: Catch the full recording here.
DEFENSE & INTELLIGENCE
Decision-Support Tool Eases Movement of Bulk Fuel for Military
The U.S. military operates more than half a million aircraft, ground vehicles, and watercraft. For scale, fueling this massive fleet costs the Pentagon roughly $10 billion annually. U.S. Transportation Command, which handles logistics for the mighty task, tapped MITRE to prototype a decision-support tool to help planners determine how much fuel is needed, how to get it where it needs to go, and how to adapt deliveries when facing dynamic and sometimes contested environments.
If/then scenarios: The Bulk Fuel Flow Optimization prototype, known as BUFFALO, uses customized, high-fidelity mathematical models to account for all relevant factors, from supply and demand to tanker availability and port depth. It also enables a range of “what-if” situations to analyze the impact of quickly changing circumstances.
QUOTABLE
“My visit underscored MITRE’s value as an exceptional and essential national asset, one that is especially critical to maintaining America’s edge in an era defined by speed, scale, and technological complexity.”
— U.S. Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) toured our McLean, Va., headquarters to learn about the impact of our work on the nation’s security and prosperity.
JOIN US
MITRE’s Warfighting Acquisition Summit is Scheduled for April 28 - 29
Registration is live for our Beyond Barriers Summit, convening industry and government leaders to plan next steps for implementing the DoW’s new Warfighting Acquisition System.