Defense

Factbox: What happens in a U.S. government shutdown?

By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker and Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker, Reuters

In shutdowns, nonessential government employees are furloughed, or placed on temporary unpaid leave. Workers deemed essential, including those dealing with public safety and national security, keep...
The Mysterious Threat to Pilots That the Pentagon Can’t Solve

By Ciro Scotti

Episodes of oxygen deprivation affecting the pilots of F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet — and other military aircraft including the F-35 — are on the rise and remain an unsolved mystery.
What Game Theory Tells Us About Trump’s ‘Madman’ Approach to North Korea

By Rob Garver

Is Donald Trump out of his mind? Maybe he wants North Korea to think so.
Does the Army’s $580 Million Handgun Have a Fatal Flaw?

By Ciro Scotti

Last January, the Army made a $580 million decision: It would replace its longstanding sidearm, the M9 Beretta, with a new modular handgun made by the U.S. arm of the German-controlled gunsmith Sig...
Why the Escalating Threats Between Trump and Kim Won’t End in War

By Patrick Smith

The supercharged threats volleyed between President Trump and Kim Jong Un this week bring us closer to war with the North Korea than at any time since Pyongyang tested its first nuclear device in...

Here’s the Real State of the $1 Trillion U.S. Nuclear Upgrade

By David Francis

The American nuclear arsenal is just about the same as it was when Trump took office.
Here’s Why North Korea Put Guam in Its Crosshairs

By David Francis

Hours after President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with fire and fury like the world has never known, Pyongyang announced it is "examining the operational plan" to attack Guam, a tiny U.S...
Why the Price of the F-35 Keeps Soaring

By Ciro Scotti

The most costly fighter ever built is getting even more expensive. A new General Accounting Office report says the Pentagon will spend an additional $3.9 billion over the next five years on “...
The Media Has to Stop Provoking Trump’s Worst Instincts

By Rob Garver

For a man constantly boasting about his extraordinary negotiating prowess, President Trump made a pretty obvious rookie mistake on Tuesday, with his apocalyptic-sounding promise to deliver “fire and...
Five Things You Need to Know About Plans to Privatize the Afghan War

By David Francis

The White House is actively considering a plan to turn a big chunk of the war in Afghanistan over to private contractors. That’s according to Erik Prince, founder of the Blackwater security firm, who...

A Robot Is My Co-Pilot: The Pentagon Tests a New Way to Fly

By Ciro Scotti

It may be a while before airplane passengers hear, “Good morning, this is your robot speaking,” but the government has already begun testing the feasibility of having automatons in the co-pilot seat...
Massive Internet Outage Hints at a New Kind of War – and Unsteady Peace

By Rob Garver

A massive cyberattack Friday morning took major websites offline in the eastern US, and highlighted concerns about the arms race in cyber warfare.
Obama Is Making Two Huge Mistakes in the War on ISIS in Mosul

By Patrick Smith

The long-anticipated battle to retake Mosul , Iraq’s second-largest city, is the biggest test to date for President Obama’s strategy against ISIS and other terrorist groups active in the Middle East...
The F-35’s Fans in Congress Want to Speed Up Production

By Ciro Scotti

A push is on in Congress to ramp up production of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter now that both the Air Force and Marines have declared the stealth aircraft operational. Related: After Years of Bad...
The Battle for Mosul: Has the US Backed an Incompetent Commander in Iraq?

By Riyadh Mohammed

With the Iraqi army battling to free Mosul from the clutches of ISIS, the coalition forces supporting the effort are hoping that this time will be different. In the past, the Iraqi army –...

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