SILICON VALLEY, Calif. -- As the Department of the Air Force (DAF) moves into an era of artificial intelligence, autonomy and rapid innovation, protecting that future falls to a small cadre of Special Agents embedded in the nation’s leading tech hubs.
In places such as Silicon Valley, Boston and Austin, Texas, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations has expanded its mission to stop adversaries before they can use the technologies that will define tomorrow’s military advantage.
Today, Special Agents operate far beyond military bases and defense contractors, inside startup incubators, university labs and venture-backed firms, where the next wave of national security innovation is taking shape.
Special Agent Kevin Alexander was among the first to see this shift up close.
In 2017, he was working out of AFOSI Det. 303 at Travis Air Force Base, California, but his mission quickly pulled him beyond it. He spent long hours on the road, meeting with startup founders, university researchers and venture capitalists across the Bay Area.
“Many of the technologies developed in the Bay Area were attracting not just investors, but foreign adversaries,” he said.
At the time, the DAF, and the Pentagon more broadly, recognized this growing shift. While research continued in military labs and with trusted contractors, breakthrough technologies were also emerging far beyond traditional channels.
For AFOSI, this marked a turning point, where the lines between commercial and classified, civilian and defense blurred faster than policy could adapt, Alexander said.
“Everything is global now,” said Special Agent Raliegh Wilson, AFOSI National Security Detachment 808. “An operation might start here in Silicon Valley, but it can quickly sprawl into a much larger effort, sometimes involving national agencies or even foreign partners. That’s just how the global economy works.”
As innovation began to outpace government acquisition systems, agencies turned to the private sector. For example, the Defense Innovation Unit, launched in 2015, and AFWERX, in 2017, was created to connect with startups, universities and entrepreneurs.
It was a shift already visible on the ground, Alexander said, and soon the growing gap between innovation and protection pulled AFOSI deeper into the commercial tech landscape.
On the other frontline
The shift toward commercial innovation laid the groundwork for a broader transformation inside AFOSI.
By 2020, senior leaders launched SPARTAN CITADEL, a nationwide initiative to protect emerging defense technologies at their source. As part of the effort, SPARTAN CITADEL established National Security Detachments (NSDs), specialized field units based in eight tech hubs across the country, including Silicon Valley, Boston and Austin, Texas.
Unlike traditional base-level counterintelligence teams, the NSDs focus on early-stage innovation, rapid acquisition efforts and commercial tech firms often overlooked by legacy security models, Wilson said.
Through both NSDs and local field offices, Special Agents embedded themselves where cutting-edge technology was being developed, Alexander said, and worked to secure it before it could be compromised or stolen.
“These technologies are game changers, not just commercially, but for the future of defense,” Wilson said. “This region is the center of gravity for emerging tech and the startup world.”
According to Alexander, the work being done in places like Silicon Valley is often national in scope, with findings that inform congressional briefings, Pentagon policy and broader intelligence efforts.
“This was a new mission space for us,” said Special Agent Dante Tabarracci, AFOSI Det. 303, who is in Alexander’s previous role. “We aren’t just supporting traditional research labs anymore, we were embedded in innovation hubs, commercial supply chains and startup ecosystems.”
Although NSDs were established to focus on emerging technology hubs, they work closely with AFOSI’s local detachments, including AFOSI Det. 303.
According to Tabarracci, the scale and speed of technological change requires coverage across diverse environments. Local teams like his also engage with regional startups, research institutions and investors.
In many cases, Det. 303 continues the same off-base work that helped define the mission in its early years, ensuring critical technologies are protected wherever they are developed. Only now, they work concurrently with the NSDs.
“So much of today’s innovation is happening in the commercial space,” Wilson said. “Thirty years ago, this kind of work was done by major defense contractors. Now its commercial industry driving the pace, and it’s moving faster than the government can keep up.”
And that, he said, is the real risk.
“Even if the military doesn’t buy it, we could still end up fighting against it,” Wilson said. “That’s why we have to be out here first.”
Protecting DOD’s AI revolution
And the rise of artificial intelligence has only sharpened that urgency, Tabarracci said.
As AI tools gain traction in the commercial world, the DAF continues integrating them into military operations. In recent years, military leaders have used advanced systems designed to speed up decision-making and improve operational planning.
“Technology is advancing outside traditional defense channels fast,” Wilson said. “AI, quantum, synthetic biology; they’re all converging. It’s a commercial industry driving that innovation, not just government contractors.”
At the same time, the DAF has not just reacted to the shift, it has helped drive it.
For example, at the Air Force Research Laboratory, programs like NICS+ and STARS have explored autonomous decision-making in space and other contested environments. These efforts use tools like neuromorphic computing and reinforcement learning to help systems operate independently, even when communications are degraded.
The work has extended to everyday operations as well. The Air and Space Force Cognitive Engine laid the groundwork for AI tools that could assist across the force, from predictive maintenance to combat decision support.
“There’s a reason companies trust us,” Tabarracci said. “It’s not just about protection, it’s how we show up. We understand the mission; we’re connected to the operational side and we know how to support without getting in the way.”
That is because for AFOSI, the core of the mission remained the same, he added.
“We’re law enforcement and counterintelligence, but also embedded in the mission,” he said. “What sets AFOSI apart is that we’re not just protecting technology, we’re protecting the people and partnerships that make it possible.”
Related links
AFOSI: About SPARTAN CITADEL
Department of the Air Force launches NIPRGPT