Latest Military and defense News

Filipino activists decide not to sail closer to disputed shoal, avoiding clash with Chinese ships

May. 16, 2024 01:44 AM EDT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — About 100 Filipino activists on wooden boats have decided not to sail closer to a fiercely disputed shoal in the South China Sea on Thursday to avoid a confrontation with dozens of Chinese coast guard and suspected militia ships guarding the area. ...

Japan, US move ahead in co-developing hypersonic weapons interceptor as regional threats grow

May. 15, 2024 23:38 PM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan and the United States on Wednesday signed an arrangement to jointly develop a new type of missile defense system as the allies seek to defend against the growing threat of hypersonic weapons, which are possessed by China and Russia and being tested by North Korea. ...

Reported sex assaults in the US military have dropped. That reverses what had been a growing problem

May. 15, 2024 22:24 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of reported sexual assaults across the military decreased last year, and a confidential survey found a 19% drop in the number of service members who said they had experienced some type of unwanted sexual contact, according to new figures obtained by The Associated...

Palestinians recount painful history with war in Gaza as a reminder

May. 15, 2024 21:31 PM EDT

Dawud Assad still has nightmares of the day Jewish militias attacked his village of Deir Yassin outside Jerusalem 76 years ago. Assad, then 16, peered out his front window to see his village ablaze. As his uncles shot back at the militias firing upon them, Assad escaped. But more...

Ukrainian troops pull out of some areas and Zelenskyy postpones foreign trips amid Russian offensive

May. 15, 2024 14:00 PM EDT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces withdrew from some parts of the country's northeast and battled Russian troops in other areas Wednesday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision to postpone all his upcoming foreign trips underscored the seriousness of the threat his soldiers face. ...

An Afghan military helicopter crash in western Afghanistan kills at least 1 person, the Taliban say

May. 15, 2024 06:38 AM EDT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — An Afghan military helicopter crashed on Wednesday in Ghor province in western Afghanistan, killing at least one person, the Taliban defense ministry said. The crash of the MI-17 was caused by a technical problem, according to a statement. The...

Military hearing officer deciding whether to recommend court-martial for Pentagon leaker

May. 14, 2024 16:52 PM EDT

BEDFORD, Massachusetts (AP) — A Massachusetts Air National Guard member who pleaded guilty in March to federal crimes for leaking highly classified military documents appeared Tuesday before a military hearing officer who will recommend whether the guardsman should face a court-martial. ...

The US is wrapping up a pier to bring aid to Gaza by sea. But danger and uncertainty lie ahead

May. 14, 2024 15:09 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the coming days, the U.S. military in the eastern Mediterranean is expected to jab one end of a hulking metal dock — the length of five U.S. football fields — into a beach in northern Gaza. And that may be the end of the easy part for the Biden...

Another top Russian Defense Ministry official is arrested on bribery charges amid Kremlin shake-up

May. 14, 2024 09:15 AM EDT

A second senior Russian defense official was arrested on bribery charges, officials said Tuesday, days after President Vladimir Putin replaced the defense minister in a Cabinet shake-up that fueled expectations of more such purges. Lt. Gen. Yury Kuznetsov, the 55-year-old chief of...

Biden blocks Chinese-backed crypto mining firm from land ownership near Wyoming missile base

May. 13, 2024 18:48 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday issued an order blocking a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency mining firm from owning land near a Wyoming nuclear missile base, calling its proximity to the base a “national security risk.” The order forces the divestment of property...