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...

Battle Over $534 Billion Defense Budget Could Get Ugly

By Eric Pianin

The battle to eliminate a spending cap on future defense spending intensified on Tuesday in a very public way: The chairs of the Senate and House Armed Services committees warned that the GOP-...
To Stop Iran Deal, Tom Cotton Drops a Diplomatic Bombshell

By Rob Garver

Freshman United States senators are usually thrilled to get their name on a piece of legislation or to get assigned to a choice committee they can aspire to chair a decade later. Few, however, manage...
Drone War in Ukraine Forces Big Tech Changes

By Patrick Tucker, Defense One

At the Donetsk Airport, a handful of Ukrainian military men by Jan. 19 had been fighting off the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic, or DPR, for months. Much of the airport structure had been...
Iran Pushes Back Against Senate GOP Letter

By Rob Garver

Senate Republicans knew that inserting themselves into negotiations between the Obama administration and Iran would provoke a reaction. They may not have expected the strongest reaction to be from...
GOP Senators Send Their Own Warning to Iran on Nukes

By Rob Garver

A group of 47 Republican senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the rest of the leadership team, released an open letter to Iran’s leaders on Monday, essentially warning that any...

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