Navy Secretary Richard Spencer took over Monday afternoon as acting defense secretary, Pentagon officials said, with the brief leadership change expected to last no more than several weeks. Published July 15, 2019
A federal judge on Friday tossed Oracle's legal challenge to the Pentagon's "war cloud" contract, dismissing claims that the Defense Department process was unfair and marred by conflicts of interest. Published July 12, 2019
Turkey on Friday received its first shipment of the Russian-made S-400 missile system, ignoring repeated warnings from the Trump administration and raising the very real risk of U.S. economic sanctions. Published July 12, 2019
The U.S. confronted Iran on the world stage Wednesday and threatened even more crushing economic sanctions if Tehran doesn't halt its uranium enrichment program, but the Trump administration also found itself on the defensive at home and abroad over how it has handled the escalating crisis. Published July 10, 2019
The Pentagon is crafting a multinational plan to stop further Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz and elsewhere in the region, top military officials said Tuesday, detailing the international community's approach to ensure oil tankers and other vessels can move safely. Published July 10, 2019
President Trump is facing growing pressure to step in and halt his favorite corporate punching bag, Amazon, from securing a historic, $10 billion contract to lead the Pentagon's 21st century cloud computing efforts. Published July 9, 2019
Booming employment markets made it difficult for military recruiters to pitch men and women on a career in the armed forces, according to researchers, who say the correlation has held true for at least a half-century. Published July 7, 2019
President Trump muddied the waters this week on U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan just as U.S. diplomats hold another round of crucial negotiations with the Taliban. Published July 3, 2019
The Defense Department is seeking a "self-contained and free flying orbital outpost" to serve as a hub for experimentation and testing for the military's 21st-century space program. Published July 3, 2019
Iran has broken through the international limit on its stockpile of uranium in the 2015 nuclear deal and is poised to dramatically ramp up enrichment, officials in Tehran said Monday as they blamed President Trump for kick-starting a crisis and put the burden on the U.S. and Europe to find a way out. Published July 1, 2019
President Trump's decision to slow-walk the installation of a permanent defense secretary, coupled with an obscure federal staffing law, has left the Pentagon poised to get its fourth leader in just the past six months -- all while military tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain at a boiling point and a massive defense policy bill is making its way through Congress. Published June 30, 2019
Russia has fine-tuned its hybrid-warfare strategy and has used it to project power and influence around the world, a major new Pentagon study says. The study argues that the U.S. must develop a more robust, comprehensive strategy to counter Moscow's 21st-century aggression. Published June 30, 2019
The Islamic State is reconstituting itself across Iraq and Syria and is poised to wage an "even more aggressive insurgency" in the months ahead, according to a major new study that claims the terrorist network is far from dead and buried. Published June 26, 2019
Saudi Arabia this month captured the head of the Islamic State's Yemen branch and other key figures atop the terrorist organization, Riyadh's state-run news agency said Tuesday. Published June 25, 2019
Iran faces "obliteration" if it ever again launches attacks on the U.S. military, President Trump warned Tuesday, trading new threats and insults with leaders in Tehran as the prospect of a diplomatic solution to the soaring tensions between the two nations seems to be fading. Published June 25, 2019
Top White House officials on Sunday warned that Iran should not mistake U.S. discretion for weakness after President Trump called off airstrikes last week in retaliation for Tehran's downing of an American drone, and officials confirmed over the weekend that the Pentagon already struck back with cyberattacks on Iranian military systems. Published June 23, 2019
White House National Security Adviser John Bolton's preference is to "take on the whole world at one time," President Trump said in an interview with NBC News as he defended having both foreign policy "hawks" and "doves" advising him as military tensions with Iran escalate. Published June 23, 2019
Iran's next step may be to attack a manned U.S. plane or American ships in the Middle East, Sen. Tom Cotton warned Sunday, urging the Trump administration to send a strong message to Tehran or risk further escalation. Published June 23, 2019
The U.S. still believes junior Iranian military officers may be responsible for last week's downing of an American drone and that senior Iranian leadership might not have authorized the strike, Vice President Mike Pence said Sunday. Published June 23, 2019
The U.S. launched a sweeping cyberattack against the Iranian military last week in direct response to Iran's downing of an American surveillance drone, U.S. officials told the Associated Press over the weekend, confirming that President Trump personally approved the retaliatory measures. Published June 23, 2019
