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...

Is Egypt’s Al-Sisi Now Putting His Terror Crisis onto Airplanes?

By Patrick Smith

We won’t know for some time just what caused EgyptAir Flight 804 to plunge abruptly into the Mediterranean shortly after midnight last Thursday. But weekend reports suggest that a detonated explosive...
Would the US Still Have the Edge in a Land War With Russia?

By Patrick Tucker, Defense One

These days, the charismatic director of the Army’s Capabilities Integration Center is knee-deep in a project called The Russia New Generation Warfare study, an analysis of how Russia is re-inventing...
The Real Captain Kirk Takes Command of the Navy’s New $4 Billion Destroyer

By Martin Matishak

Who better to entrust a high-tech, multi-billion dollar warship than Capt. James Kirk? In this case it’s U.S. Navy Capt. James A. Kirk, not Starfleet Capt. James Tiberius Kirk of the United...
US Troops Are Headed to Libya, and That’s Bad News for Hillary Clinton

By Martin Matishak

The U.S. is inching closer to a deal that would see a long-term commitment of troops to Libya to fight the Islamic State. “There’s a lot of activity going on underneath the surface,” Marine Gen...
Here’s How the US Has Been Using Vietnam-Era Warplanes in Iraq

By Martin Matishak

Even decades-old warplanes can have an interesting second act, provided they get the right upgrade. Many military observers were baffled when The Daily Beast reported that the Pentagon had deployed a...

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