by Met Middleson

June 20, 2025

On June 20, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated a striking claim. Speaking about U.S. strength amid rising tensions with Iran, she said the United States has military capabilities “that no other country on this planet possesses.” No further details were offered.

That kind of statement is not unusual during moments of international pressure. But it raises a real question. What exactly is she referring to?

Some of the most advanced U.S. military programs are publicly documented through DARPA. The OFFSET program has tested drone swarms of up to 250 autonomous vehicles, controlled through immersive command interfaces in urban environments. HAWC, a hypersonic air-breathing missile project, has completed multiple successful tests, flying at speeds over Mach 5 and reaching targets more than 300 nautical miles away. Another program, AMASS, is developing the ability to coordinate large swarms-of-swarms across land, air, and sea, with the goal of overwhelming adversaries through scale and autonomy.

These are not theories. They are real programs with published results, funded and overseen by the U.S. Department of Defense.

But Leavitt’s language goes beyond superiority in known systems. It hints at something else, something undefined. Whether intentional or not, her statement invites speculation. If there are capabilities the public has not seen, it would not be the first time that military strength was signaled long before it was revealed.