U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to visit the Philippines, the first stop in his first trip to Asia next week, for talks that will include increasing deterrence against aggression in the disputed South China Sea, a Philippine official said March 21. ... In the U.S., chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell later said Hegseth will visit Hawaii to meet civilian and military leaders in the Indo-Pacific Command then tour U.S. military facilities in Guam and receive briefings on capabilities before flying to the Philippines and Japan.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has extended aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman‘s (CVN-75) deployment to the Middle East, while USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) will also head to U.S. Central Command, USNI News has learned. Truman will stay in U.S. Central Command for another month, according to a U.S. official. Carl Vinson, which was operating in the East China Sea this week, has been tasked to the Middle East region to make for an overlapping two-carrier presence as the Trump administration ramps up its aggression against the Yemen-based Houthis.
Cross-border drone attacks killed civilians in both Ukraine and Russia overnight into March 23, according to local officials, as the two sides continued long-range strikes despite agreeing—in principle—to a limited ceasefire last week.
Israeli forces were expanding their offensive in Gaza on March 23, taking control of more territory and issuing new evacuation orders for residents who had only recently returned to their homes. The Israeli military renewed its offensive in Gaza this past week after talks to extend a fragile, temporary cease-fire that went into effect in mid-January reached an impasse.
China is pushing its commercial space industry to grow in a bid to spur greater innovation and close the gap with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. At least six Chinese rockets designed with reusability in mind are planned to have their maiden flights this year. In November, the country’s first commercial launch site began operating. Beijing and local governments are giving private-sector companies cash injections of billions of dollars.
Military child care centers and Department of Defense schools are allowed to continue hiring workers with their exemptions from the civilian hiring freeze, according to Pentagon personnel officials.
The Space Force is looking for ways to experiment with new technologies on its next-generation GPS satellites, but persistent delays to a key demonstration program could limit its options. The service planned to launch the Navigation Technology Satellite-3 demonstration, dubbed NTS-3, in 2022 with an eye toward experimenting with new positioning, navigation and timing signals and payloads that could be installed on future GPS satellites and shape its long-term plans for the constellation.
Officials leading the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and AI Office are exploring possible exemptions to the ongoing hiring freeze that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently instituted as part of a broader effort to shrink the department’s civilian workforce, according to an internal unclassified email obtained by DefenseScoop.
The Space Force has signed the first contracts to “pilot” its new Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve (CASR) program to companies providing space monitoring data, the head of the service’s Commercial Space Office told Breaking Defense.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, sent a memo March 21 saying that members of the Department of Defense (DOD) may be subjected to polygraph tests in a new investigation into alleged leaks at the Pentagon. Kasper mentioned “recent unauthorized disclosures” of sensitive information but stopped short of specifying any details about the alleged leaks.
Second lady Usha Vance and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz will visit Greenland next week amid President Trump’s often-stated intent to acquire Denmark’s vast but sparsely populated North American outpost. ... Mr. Waltz will visit the Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Force Base), which supports missile warning and defense missions and space surveillance operations. The base is operated by the U.S. Space Force under a defense agreement with Denmark.
Oklahoma State wrestler Wyatt Hendrickson saluted President Donald Trump after he completed his stunning upset at the NCAA championship on March 22. Hendrickson, a former Air Force wrestler and current second lieutenant, shared the patriotic moment with the commander in chief—who sat mat-side—when he defeated Minnesota’s Gable Steveson 5-3 to clinch the Heavyweight title.
