The U.S. Department of Defense has secretly created a dedicated unit to block or neutralize adversaries' development of advanced military technology, the U.S. political news outlet Politico reported on the 22nd.
Politico said interviews with 12 current and former U.S. national security officials showed that the department established the Technology Support Office (TSO) in April and has spent several months building it out. The office aims to develop cutting-edge tools and strategies that can delay adversaries' development of advanced defense technology or disable it remotely.
Politico said the department could use the office to expand aggressive covert activity abroad, including cyberattacks and disinformation operations.
The TSO is staffed by engineers, special operations personnel and intelligence officers, and its remit ranges from building custom hacking tools to elaborate deception operations designed to induce adversaries to install faulty components in key weapons systems. A former U.S. intelligence official said the office's ultimate goal is to delay or block adversaries' development of technology that would pose a major threat to U.S. forces in a large-scale conflict.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior department officials have never publicly acknowledged the office's existence. Politico said the specifics of its work are classified at the highest level.
The creation of the TSO was led by Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, according to the report. Hegseth and Feinberg set up the office by merging two classified Pentagon intelligence programs that had carried out similar covert activities since 2023.
Feinberg signed a founding memorandum in April placing the TSO under the authority of the undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security. Grant Hundley, a former Marine Corps special operations officer, was named its first director.
The exact size of its budget has not been disclosed. One former senior Pentagon intelligence official estimated that spending tied to the office's classified contracts alone would exceed $1.5 billion.
The move also triggered friction inside the department, according to the report. U.S. Special Operations Command and Cyber Command opposed the creation of the TSO out of concern that their budgets and authorities would be reduced. Concerns have also been raised about the lack of transparency in how the office operates, including the possibility that its classified status could be used to evade congressional oversight or to carry out operations that violate international law.
The department recently briefed some congressional officials on its plans for the TSO, but only a small number of congressional staff were informed, according to the report.
The department denied the account. Jacob Bliss, a deputy Pentagon spokesman, told Politico, which had asked it to confirm the report, that the story appeared to be based on inaccurate information.