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...

U.S. leaders see fallout if joint missile funds nixed

By Andrea Shalal-Esa, Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and his top weapons buyer warned U.S. lawmakers that failure to fund the final year of development work on a joint ground-based missile defense...
U.S. zaps target in high-stakes missile shield test

By Jim Wolf, Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. forces using a new Raytheon Co interceptor missile downed another missile in space in a high-stakes test of a shield built to thwart growing capabilities of countries like...
Gunmen storm pro-government Syrian TV channel

By Reuters

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Gunmen stormed the headquarters of a pro-government Syrian TV news channel on Wednesday morning, planted explosives and killed three employees, state media said. "The terrorists...
Reid Dismisses Pentagon’s Threats of Layoffs

By Eric Pianin

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., appears unmoved by defense industry warnings of massive layoffs if Congress and the White House allow $500 billion or more of automatic cuts in Pentagon...
Syria's too dangerous for monitors to resume work: U.N. official

By Louis Charbonneau, Reuters

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that the increasing danger in Syria made it impossible for the U.N. observer mission to...

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