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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang is a National Security Correspondent for The Washington Times. His reporting is regularly featured in the daily Threat Status newsletter.
Previously, he covered energy and the environment, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016, and also spent two years as a White House correspondent during the Obama administration.
Before coming to The Times in 2011, Ben worked as political reporter at The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, Pa.
He can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

Behind Replicator’s drone delays: A blueprint to fix Pentagon buying

The Pentagon's secretive Replicator program isn't about drones, at least not entirely. If it was, it's fallen short of its goal.

November 13, 2025

Africa overtakes Mideast as world’s terrorism epicenter; U.S. military goals in question

President Trump's surprise threat to launch strikes in Nigeria has thrust back into the spotlight this often-overlooked reality: Africa is one of the most active international hot spots for the U.S. military.

November 10, 2025

Hegseth promises ‘transformation’ of how Pentagon buys weapons, tells contractors to get on board

The Pentagon will undertake a historic transformation in the way it acquires and delivers weapons to its warfighters, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday, with a new emphasis on speed that marks one of the most significant overhauls in decades to America's military-industrial ecosystem.

November 7, 2025

Pentagon chief Hegseth expected to unveil ‘aggressive agenda,’ major overhaul of weapons buying

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to unveil major changes Friday to how the Pentagon acquires and delivers weapons to its warfighters, with a new emphasis on speed that will potentially mark one of the most significant overhauls in decades to America's military-industrial ecosystem.

November 7, 2025

Trump’s boat strikes ignite legal firestorm: Self-defense vs. extrajudicial kills

Legal scholars say the Trump administration may have a solid argument that international drug cartels are using narcotics as de facto weapons of war and are targeting the U.S. with the intent of doing physical harm -- in the form of drug addiction -- to its citizens.

November 3, 2025

Pentagon communications policy could cut off Congress from military, GOP lawmakers say

The Pentagon's crackdown on communications with Congress will make it harder for lawmakers to get the information they need on military affairs, said Republican lawmakers, retired military officers and former Defense Department officials.

October 29, 2025

Beijing jeers U.S. after helicopter and jet crash in separate incidents into the South China Sea

China condemned America's "disruption to regional peace and stability" on Monday, just hours after a U.S. Navy helicopter and fighter jet crashed into the South China Sea.

October 27, 2025

Pentagon confirms anonymous $130 million donation from Trump ‘friend’ to pay troops

The Pentagon has confirmed that it received an anonymous $130 million donation to help pay troops during the ongoing government shutdown.

October 24, 2025

Pentagon says ‘new generation’ of more than 60 journalists signed restrictive new rules

The Pentagon on Wednesday announced that more than 60 journalists have agreed to the restrictive new press policies implemented by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and will form the "next generation of the Pentagon press corps."

October 22, 2025

‘He lost us’: Generals, senior officers say trust in Hegseth has evaporated

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has lost the trust and respect of some top military commanders, with his public "grandstanding" widely seen as unprofessional and the personnel moves made by the former cable TV host leading to an unprecedented and dangerous exodus of talent from the Pentagon, said current senior military officers and current and former Defense Department officials.

October 20, 2025

Zelenskyy insists ‘Putin is not winning,’ says Ukraine needs U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted that Russia "is not winning" the war between the two nations.

October 19, 2025

Embassy in Trinidad warns Americans to avoid government buildings amid U.S.-Venezuela tensions

Americans in Trinidad and Tobago should avoid government buildings due to a "heightened state of alert" on the twin-island nation, according to a warning from the U.S. Embassy there.

October 19, 2025

Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza after attacks on IDF troops; Trump-backed ceasefire in jeopardy

The U.S.-backed ceasefire in the Gaza Strip barreled toward total collapse Sunday after Hamas terrorists killed two Israeli soldiers and Israeli forces responded with a wave of airstrikes on dozens of targets across the Palestinian enclave.

October 19, 2025

Powering the future: Army sees small, mobile nuclear reactors as key to energy resilience

The Army is developing next-generation mobile nuclear reactors under a program announced Tuesday. It promises to have "at least one" working reactor by summer 2026 as part of a push to ensure reliable power generation at military installations and for forward-deployed troops.

October 14, 2025

How the U.S. Army and defense industry will build new generation of counter-drone weaponry

It's an urgent mission for the Pentagon and its defense industry partners: Build cost-effective tools -- lots of them -- to counter the increasingly cheap and lethal tactical attack drones wielded by America's adversaries abroad or terrorists targeting events at home.

October 13, 2025

Army officials, defense industry leaders to land in D.C. for big military conference

Key military officials and defense industry leaders will descend on Washington next week for a major Army conference, with the service's 21st-century modernization effort in the spotlight and against the backdrop of a push across the Pentagon to maintain an edge over America's adversaries.

October 11, 2025

South Korean investigators indict Hak Ja Han Moon, head of Family Federation

South Korean authorities indicted Hak Ja Han Moon, the 82-year-old matriarch of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, on Friday on charges of bribery, embezzlement and other alleged offenses.

October 10, 2025

Trump-Kim meeting over North Korea’s nukes possible

A meeting between President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is possible in the near future and could provide the spark needed for a deal between Washington and Pyongyang, one that could limit the communist country's nuclear program.

October 8, 2025

Four killed as U.S. strikes another drug-smuggling speedboat off coast of Venezuela, Pentagon says

U.S. forces on Friday struck another boat off the coast of Venezuela that was transporting drugs to America, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.

October 3, 2025

America aims to keep air superiority in high-tech battle spaces

It's no longer a given that the U.S. and its allies will control the skies with ease in conflict. In the 21st century, gaining and maintaining air superiority will require a combination of cutting-edge tactical drones, surveillance aircraft powered by artificial intelligence, multimillion-dollar fighter jets and stealth bombers.

October 3, 2025

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Ben Wolfgang

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

Behind Replicator’s drone delays: A blueprint to fix Pentagon buying

Africa overtakes Mideast as world’s terrorism epicenter; U.S. military goals in question

Hegseth promises ‘transformation’ of how Pentagon buys weapons, tells contractors to get on board

Pentagon chief Hegseth expected to unveil ‘aggressive agenda,’ major overhaul of weapons buying

Trump’s boat strikes ignite legal firestorm: Self-defense vs. extrajudicial kills

Pentagon communications policy could cut off Congress from military, GOP lawmakers say

Beijing jeers U.S. after helicopter and jet crash in separate incidents into the South China Sea

Pentagon confirms anonymous $130 million donation from Trump ‘friend’ to pay troops

Pentagon says ‘new generation’ of more than 60 journalists signed restrictive new rules

‘He lost us’: Generals, senior officers say trust in Hegseth has evaporated

Zelenskyy insists ‘Putin is not winning,’ says Ukraine needs U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles

Embassy in Trinidad warns Americans to avoid government buildings amid U.S.-Venezuela tensions

Israel launches airstrikes in Gaza after attacks on IDF troops; Trump-backed ceasefire in jeopardy

Powering the future: Army sees small, mobile nuclear reactors as key to energy resilience

How the U.S. Army and defense industry will build new generation of counter-drone weaponry

Army officials, defense industry leaders to land in D.C. for big military conference

South Korean investigators indict Hak Ja Han Moon, head of Family Federation

Trump-Kim meeting over North Korea’s nukes possible

Four killed as U.S. strikes another drug-smuggling speedboat off coast of Venezuela, Pentagon says

America aims to keep air superiority in high-tech battle spaces