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Photos

Snapshots of what’s happening in the Defense Department.

A person in a flying helicopter wearing a flight suit and a helmet fires a machine gun toward an object billowing smoke on a body of water.

Maritime Interdiction

A Marine Corps UH-1Y Venom crew chief assigned to Littoral Combat Force-24 fires an M134 minigun during a maritime interdiction operation while underway in the Pacific Ocean, Sept. 2, 2026. The vessel of interest was boarded and cleared before being destroyed. U.S. military forces are deployed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility supporting Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, War Department-directed operations and the president's priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking, deter malign actors and protect the homeland through continuous presence.

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