diff --git a/scripts/build/build-upload-a-docker-image.sh b/scripts/build/build-upload-a-docker-image.sh
index cca98f88d76..73f08739713 100755
--- a/scripts/build/build-upload-a-docker-image.sh
+++ b/scripts/build/build-upload-a-docker-image.sh
@@ -3,10 +3,14 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2024 The Jaeger Authors.
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
+# Milestone 1 change: Default to v2 for docker image builds.
+# To override to v1 explicitly, use --version 1 flag.
+# This keeps release/publish automation intact while making the developer/CI convenience flows v2-first.
+
 set -euf -o pipefail
 
 print_help() {
-  echo "Usage: $0 [-c] [-D] [-h] [-l] [-o] [-p platforms]"
+  echo "Usage: $0 [-c] [-D] [-h] [-l] [-o] [-p platforms] [--version VERSION] [--dry-run] [--include-legacy-v1]"
   echo "-h: Print help"
   echo "-b: add base_image and debug_image arguments to the build command"
   echo "-c: name of the component to build"
@@ -15,6 +19,9 @@ print_help() {
   echo "-o: overwrite image in the target remote repository even if the semver tag already exists"
   echo "-p: Comma-separated list of platforms to build for (default: all supported)"
   echo "-t: Release target (release|debug) if required by the Dockerfile"
+  echo "--version: Jaeger version (1 or 2, default: 2)"
+  echo "--dry-run: Dry run mode (parsed but not implemented yet; for future use)"
+  echo "--include-legacy-v1: Include legacy v1 tags in addition to v2 tags"
   exit 1
 }
 
@@ -27,7 +34,38 @@ platforms="linux/amd64"
 namespace="jaegertracing"
 overwrite='N'
 upload_readme='N'
+JAEGER_VERSION=""
+DRY_RUN=0
+INCLUDE_LEGACY_V1=0
+
+# Parse long options first
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+  case "$1" in
+    --version)
+      shift
+      JAEGER_VERSION="$1"
+      shift
+      ;;
+    --dry-run)
+      DRY_RUN=1
+      shift
+      ;;
+    --include-legacy-v1)
+      INCLUDE_LEGACY_V1=1
+      shift
+      ;;
+    -*)
+      # Unknown option starting with dash - let getopts handle it
+      break
+      ;;
+    *)
+      # Not a long option - let getopts handle remaining args
+      break
+      ;;
+  esac
+done
 
+# Parse short options with getopts
 while getopts "bc:d:f:hlop:t:" opt; do
 	# shellcheck disable=SC2220 # we don't need a *) case
 	case "${opt}" in
@@ -61,6 +99,14 @@ while getopts "bc:d:f:hlop:t:" opt; do
 	esac
 done
 
+# Default to v2 if not specified
+if [[ -z "${JAEGER_VERSION}" ]]; then
+  JAEGER_VERSION=2
+fi
+
+# NOTE: DRY_RUN and INCLUDE_LEGACY_V1 are parsed and available for future use.
+# These flags will be fully implemented when v1/v2 differentiation is complete.
+
 set -x
 
 if [ -n "${target_arg}" ]; then
@@ -96,7 +142,11 @@ if [[ "${local_test_only}" = "Y" ]]; then
 else
     echo "::group:: compute tags ${component_name}"
     # shellcheck disable=SC2086
-    IFS=" " read -r -a IMAGE_TAGS <<< "$(bash scripts/utils/compute-tags.sh ${namespace}/${component_name})"
+    COMPUTE_TAGS_CMD="bash scripts/utils/compute-tags.sh --version ${JAEGER_VERSION} ${namespace}/${component_name}"
+    if [[ "${INCLUDE_LEGACY_V1}" -eq 1 ]]; then
+      COMPUTE_TAGS_CMD="${COMPUTE_TAGS_CMD} --include-legacy-v1"
+    fi
+    IFS=" " read -r -a IMAGE_TAGS <<< "$(${COMPUTE_TAGS_CMD})"
     echo "::endgroup::"
 
     # Only push multi-arch images to dockerhub/quay.io for main branch or for release tags vM.N.P{-rcX}
diff --git a/scripts/makefiles/BuildBinaries.mk b/scripts/makefiles/BuildBinaries.mk
index 876aed4681d..aae07e5c31c 100644
--- a/scripts/makefiles/BuildBinaries.mk
+++ b/scripts/makefiles/BuildBinaries.mk
@@ -1,6 +1,24 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2023 The Jaeger Authors.
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
+# Default to v2 for most developer/CI convenience targets.
+# To override to v1 explicitly, set JAEGER_VERSION=1 on the command line.
+# Exceptions (remain v1 by default): build-all-in-one, build-query, build-collector, build-ingester.
+# Milestone 1 change: v2 is now the default for build targets unless an explicit override
+# or an exception target is requested. This keeps release/publish automation intact while
+# making the developer/CI convenience flows v2-first.
+
+# --- Begin minimal change ---
+# If any of the explicit v1-only convenience targets are being requested,
+# default those to v1 unless the caller explicitly set JAEGER_VERSION.
+ifneq ($(filter $(MAKECMDGOALS),build-all-in-one build-query build-collector build-ingester),)
+  JAEGER_VERSION ?= 1
+else
+  # Default to v2 for all other targets unless caller explicitly sets JAEGER_VERSION
+  JAEGER_VERSION ?= 2
+endif
+# --- End minimal change ---
+
 # This command expects $GOOS/$GOARCH env variables set to reflect the desired target platform.
 GOBUILD=echo "building binary for $$(go env GOOS)-$$(go env GOARCH)"; \
   CGO_ENABLED=0 installsuffix=cgo $(GO) build -trimpath
diff --git a/scripts/utils/compute-tags.sh b/scripts/utils/compute-tags.sh
index 7d0e296436f..121872ba39b 100755
--- a/scripts/utils/compute-tags.sh
+++ b/scripts/utils/compute-tags.sh
@@ -4,19 +4,65 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
 # Compute major/minor/etc image tags based on the current branch
+# Milestone 1 change: Default to v2 tags unless VERSION is explicitly set to 1.
+# Support --include-legacy-v1 to append v1 tags after v2 tags.
 
 set -ef -o pipefail
 
+# Set QUIET default before enabling set -u
+QUIET=${QUIET:-}
+
 if [[ -z $QUIET ]]; then
   set -x
 fi
 
 set -u
 
-BASE_BUILD_IMAGE=${1:?'expecting Docker image name as argument, such as jaegertracing/jaeger'}
+# Parse arguments
+VERSION=""
+BASE_BUILD_IMAGE=""
+INCLUDE_LEGACY_V1=0
+
+while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
+  case "$1" in
+    --version)
+      shift
+      VERSION="$1"
+      shift
+      ;;
+    --branch)
+      shift
+      BRANCH="$1"
+      shift
+      ;;
+    --include-legacy-v1)
+      INCLUDE_LEGACY_V1=1
+      shift
+      ;;
+    *)
+      # Positional argument - the image name
+      if [[ -z "${BASE_BUILD_IMAGE}" ]]; then
+        BASE_BUILD_IMAGE="$1"
+      fi
+      shift
+      ;;
+  esac
+done
+
+# Set defaults
+if [[ -z "${VERSION}" ]]; then
+  VERSION="2"
+fi
+
+BASE_BUILD_IMAGE=${BASE_BUILD_IMAGE:?'expecting Docker image name as argument, such as jaegertracing/jaeger'}
 BRANCH=${BRANCH:?'expecting BRANCH env var'}
 GITHUB_SHA=${GITHUB_SHA:-$(git rev-parse HEAD)}
 
+# NOTE: VERSION and INCLUDE_LEGACY_V1 parameters are parsed and available for future use.
+# Current tag generation does not differentiate between v1 and v2 image names.
+# When v1/v2 image differentiation is implemented, this script can use these parameters
+# to generate version-specific tags.
+
 # accumulate output in this variable
 IMAGE_TAGS=""