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...

The Pentagon Is Planning a New Super Rival to the Troubled F-35

By Eric Pianin

After years of missteps and ghastly cost overruns, the $1 trillion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is finally coming on line and generating relatively positive reviews by the military and erstwhile critics...
The Navy Commissions Its Super Stealthy $4.4 Billion Destroyer

By Ciro Scotti

The futuristic stealth destroyer that the Navy commissioned last weekend is packed to the gills with firepower. Related: The Real Captain Kirk Takes Command of the Navy’s New Billion Destroyer The...
Obama Has Just Turned Yemen into Another Middle East Quagmire

By Patrick Smith

When a U.S. vessel off the coast of Yemen fired on Houthi rebels Thursday , it sent another of the Obama administration’s delicate balancing acts in the Middle East off the rails. Is the president...
ISIS Is Now Using Drones, and the Pentagon Is Scrambling to Respond

By Patrick Tucker, Defense One

On October 2, Peshmerga fighters operating against ISIS near Erbil, Iraq, shot down a small hobby drone, the kind you might buy off of Amazon. But when they investigated the downed device, it...
US Makes It Official: Russia Is Hacking the Election

By Rob Garver

Tensions between the United States and Vladimir Putin’s Russia have reached a pitch not seen in decades over the past 24 hours, as a Russian general threatened to shoot down American planes if they...

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