Latest U.S. Department of Defense News

US weighing options in Africa after Niger junta orders departure from key counterterrorism base

Mar. 18, 2024 15:50 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is working with Niger officials, seeking a way for U.S. troops to stay in the country — a key base for counterterrorism operations in sub-Saharan Africa — following a weekend directive that they leave. Last week a high level-delegation of U.S....

US military chief tours arms plants with GOP lawmakers to show that Ukraine aid boosts jobs at home

Mar. 14, 2024 17:40 PM EDT

CAMDEN, Ark. (AP) — As they stood before massive rocket launchers built in part by their Arkansas constituents, Republican lawmakers were getting an unambiguous message Thursday from America’s top military officer: A Ukraine aid package that’s stalled in Congress will not only help in the...

US Army boats head out on a mission to build a floating pier off Gaza's shore for food deliveries

Mar. 12, 2024 17:53 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Four U.S. Army boats, loaded with tons of equipment and steel pier segments, left Virginia on Tuesday, heading to Gaza as part of the U.S. effort to expand the delivery of food and other supplies to starving Palestinians as Israel's war against Hamas drags on. The...

Pentagon to give Ukraine $300 million in weapons even as it lacks funds to replenish US stockpile

Mar. 12, 2024 16:08 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon will rush about $300 million in weapons to Ukraine after finding some cost savings in its contracts, even though the military remains deeply overdrawn and needs at least $10 billion to replenish all the weapons it has pulled from its stocks to help Kyiv in its...

How the US military is scrambling to build a floating dock for urgently needed aid to Gaza

Mar. 09, 2024 00:03 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Even before President Joe Biden announced in his State of the Union address the plans for providing aid to Gaza by sea, the Army’s 7th Transportation Brigade and other units were scrambling to pull equipment together. They received their orders before the...

Pentagon study finds no sign of alien life in reported UFO sightings going back decades

Mar. 08, 2024 17:45 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon study released Friday that examined reported sightings of UFOs over nearly the last century found no evidence of aliens or extraterrestrial intelligence, a conclusion consistent with past U.S. government efforts to assess the accuracy of claims that have captivated...

Ukraine's troops are rationing ammunition. Yet House Republicans plan to take weeks to mull more aid

Mar. 02, 2024 07:51 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian drones fly without ammunition. Russian artillery unleash deadly volleys from safe positions beyond the range of Kyiv's troops. Shortages of ammo and supplies are resulting in lost ground to Moscow, U.S. congressional leaders warn, yet the Republican-controlled House...

Pentagon to lift ban on V-22 Osprey flights, 3 months after fatal crash in Japan

Mar. 01, 2024 15:45 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon will lift the ban on flights by the grounded V-22 Osprey next week, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Friday, following a high-level meeting where Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin endorsed the military services' plans for a safe and measured return to...

Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira expected to plead guilty in federal case

Feb. 29, 2024 18:24 PM EST

BOSTON (AP) — Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of leaking highly classified military documents on a social media platform, is expected to plead guilty in his federal case, according to court papers filed Thursday. Prosecutors asked the judge to...

Lawmakers fault Defense Secretary Austin for a failure of leadership over his secret hospital stay

Feb. 29, 2024 18:21 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin faced pointed bipartisan criticism at a congressional hearing Thursday for his failure to promptly notify President Joe Biden and other U.S. leaders about his hospital stay last month. Republicans demanded to know why no one has been disciplined. ...