Ukraine’s air space has been contested for more than five months, replete with advanced Russian fighter jets and near-universal Russian surface-to-air missile coverage that make penetration by aging Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29s and Su-25s both risky and dangerous. For the duration of that time, Ukrainian ...
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III held his fourth Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting virtually from the Pentagon amid practically a standstill on the Ukraine front lines in the eastern Donbas region. Austin announced a new presidential drawdown transfer of sophisticated rockets but no aircraft ...
President Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Wilma Vaught at a White House ceremony. Vaught is only the eighth distinguished Airman to earn the honor. Over the course of a 28-year Air Force career, Vaught, 92, was "the ...
President Joe Biden previewed $800 million in new defense assistance to Ukraine, including “a new advanced Western air defense system,” in closing a NATO summit in Madrid that saw formal invitations offered to Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. Also during the historic summit, ...
President Joe Biden again drew into question America’s “strategic ambiguity” regarding the defense of Taiwan by saying the United States would become involved militarily if China invaded the island. However, Pentagon leaders declined to discuss military plans or strategy when asked to elaborate. At a ...
In a 2027 invasion of Taiwan by China, neither side achieves air superiority, both sides take heavy losses, and China finds little hope for a fait accompli, according to a recent wargame run by the Center for a New American Security. The game highlighted the ...
President Joe Biden approved a Defense Department request to return "under 500" American troops to Somalia, where the al-Shabab terrorist group has grown in wealth and influence and increased the tempo of its attacks since U.S. troops withdrew in January 2021. A senior administration official ...
A hearing of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee drew attention to perceived funding shortfalls in the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, but Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley said plans to counter China have not ...
President Joe Biden has nominated Brig. Gen. Caroline M. Miller to be the next deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel, and services. If confirmed, Miller would completely skip the two-star rank and pin on her third star, becoming just the third actively-serving woman in ...
President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass a supplemental aid package worth $33 billion to replace the nearly-exhausted $3.5 billion Ukraine aid package passed in March. The multi-faceted replenishment includes weapons and humanitarian and economic assistance, and it would deliver $16 billion to the ...
President Joe Biden warned that the United States will respond if Russia uses chemical weapons against Ukraine. Biden also promised to take in 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, provide $1 billion in humanitarian support to Ukraine, and impose a new round of sanctions against Russian politicians, entities, ...
President Joe Biden ordered new military forces to NATO's eastern flank Feb. 22 and began to ratchet up sanctions on Russia. The decisions followed Russian President Vladimir Putin's recognizing the independence of two separatist-controlled areas of southeastern Ukraine and sending tanks and troops across the ...