Pentagon

US weighs reducing military presence in Gulf as Iran war cost hits $37.5 bn

The review follows extensive damage to American installations during the Iran conflict, with officials assessing future base configurations and whether damaged facilities should be rebuilt

Trump orders Pentagon to scale back US-South Korea joint military drills

President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered the Pentagon to scale back joint exercises with South Korea after he said it declined to help denuclearise Iran. The announcement comes days before one of two scheduled large-scale joint annual exercises between South Korean and US troops are set to begin this week . It also comes just days after North Korea resumed ballistic missile testing activities that are banned by the UN. The allies have said the 11-day exercises are meant to strengthen their readiness against threats from North Korea, and reiterated that they are defensive in nature.

Pentagon pushes defence cos for weapons production after depleted stocks

The Pentagon is pressing the US defence industry to accelerate production of weapons to help replenish its diminished stockpile of munitions, including those depleted in the ongoing war with Iran. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement Saturday that the department was actively focused on boosting munitions acquisitions to provide "the weapons our warfighters need at the pace the threat demands." He confirmed department efforts in the last week to significantly speed the process but insisted it was part of a broader modernisation effort that predated the five-month-old conflict. Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg wrote to industry leaders on Wednesday, giving them no more than 21 days to submit plans to "drive significantly faster, more aggressive delivery schedules and/or increased production for critical capabilities," according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post. "Years-long development cycles are not acceptable," Feinberg wrote. "We must dramatically ...

Pentagon asks defence firms to boost production of key weapon systems

There have been growing warnings about the state of US weapons stockpiles as the US military attacks Iran and repels its drone and missile strikes on American bases in the region

Pentagon changes how it reports soldier casualties in Iran conflict

The changes separated the casualty numbers into two separate web pages, potentially making it more difficult to tally the war's full toll

US war against Iran has cost $37.5 billion, says Defence Secy Pete Hegseth

Hegseth gave the estimate in an appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that was focused on President Donald Trump's request for an additional $67 billion in defence funding

Musk's SpaceX in talks to provide computing power to Pentagon: Report

According to the ‌report, SpaceX employees have ​discussed plans to compete more directly with neocloud firms such ‌as CoreWeave by ​selling computing ‌capacity

Alibaba is fighting two battles in the US. Here’s why | Pentagon | Anthropic

Alibaba is facing pressure on two fronts in the US. The company has sued the Pentagon after being labelled a Chinese military-linked firm. At the same time, AI startup Anthropic has accused Alibaba

US Army to build critical minerals processing plants on military bases

REalloys Inc., Titan Mining Corp., ioneer Ltd. and Energy X have reached agreements with the Pentagon to build facilities for processing rare earth minerals, graphite, lithium and boron

White House seeks $87.6 bn for Iran war, farmers' aid and Ebola response

The White House has formally requested USD 87.6 billion mostly to replenish the Pentagon after the US war against Iran, submitting the request to Congress at a politically difficult time as a majority of lawmakers have objected to any further military action. The Office of Management and Budget sent the supplemental spending request Wednesday. It arrived just hours after President Donald Trump assailed Republican senators during a private lunch -- engaging in a shouting match with one -- over their votes to approve a war powers resolution that would halt further hostilities. The request is mostly for Operation Epic Fury, but it also includes a range of other items including aid to American farmers, help for the Ebola crisis in Africa and other needs closer to home, including restoration projects in Washington, D.C. "I urge the Congress to take action on these important and urgent requests as soon as possible," said OMB Director Russ Vought in a letter to House Speaker Mike ...

Pentagon seeks $80 billion from Congress to cover mounting Iran war costs

The Pentagon has told senators it needs roughly USD 80 billion, mostly to cover the cost of the US war against Iran, adding to what is already a sizable military spending boost being sought by President Donald Trump. The White House Office of Management and Budget has yet to make a formal request to Congress. But Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, including Monday evening. A top deputy defence secretary told senators about the Iran funding request last week, according to two people familiar with the situation but not authorised to discuss it publicly. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the developments. Push for Pentagon money faces skeptical lawmakers --------------------------------------------------------- The push for billions of dollars in Iran war funding comes at a fraught political moment. Lawmakers are skeptical of the deal Trump struck with Iran to bring an end to the war, and wary of next steps. The White House has reques

Pentagon chief urges Europe to take lead as he pushes a 'Nato 3.0' reboot

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that America's allies in Europe must take the lead on the defence of their own continent and help turn NATO into "a read hard-line military alliance." At a meeting of NATO defence ministers, Hegseth called for a reboot of the 32-nation organisation to turn it into a "NATO 3.0" capable of deterring any threat. His remarks came a few weeks after the United States told its allies that it would no longer supply certain warships and aircraft if one of them comes under attack. European allies and Canada are trying to work out how to plug the gaps. "NATO 3.0 is post-Cold War recognition that (NATO) needs to go back to a real hard-line military alliance that has real military capabilities capable of deterring right here on the continent and taking the lead for the conventional defence of Europe," Hegseth said. As part of that, he told reporters, the United States would be investing $1.5 trillion in its own defence in 2027, sending "a message

US Defence Dept slashes its religious designations list from 200 to 31

The Department of Defense has announced that a significant reduction in the number of religious affiliations it officially recognises. The new list of 31 is down from more than 200 previously recognised traditions that troops could choose from. The list no longer includes atheists, Unitarian Universalists, pagans and Wiccans. "This decrease in religious affiliation codes is not designed to make any claims on the legitimacy of any faith or religious belief, nor is it intended to provide a list of officially approved' religions," Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement. "Rather, it is designed to allow chaplains to quickly look at the religious composition of their units and determine how they structure resources to best provide for warfighters of all faith groups." Parnell added the department values the free exercise of religion and chaplains facilitate service members' "ability to freely exercise their religion of choice, or no religion at all." The list creates bro

'Now a classified space': Pentagon bars journalists from its press office

In another of a series of moves restricting media access at the Pentagon, the Defense Department has declared that its press office is now a classified space inaccessible to journalists. On X, acting Pentagon press secretary Joel Valdez confirmed the move, saying there was "nothing controversial" about it and that it came because speechwriters, who use classified material, were now occupying the space. "The Pentagon Press Office has been redesignated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War sharing the facility," Valdez wrote. "These speechwriters routinely handle classified material as a result, journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space. There's nothing controversial about that." The latest move, first reported by The Washington Post, took place against a backdrop of escalating tensions between the U.S. media and the second Trump administration, which has played out both in the public ar

NYT sues Pentagon for second time over Hegseth's media restrictions

The New York Times sued the Defence Department on Monday for the second time in five months, arguing that a requirement that journalists be escorted while on Pentagon grounds violates the First Amendment. The escort policy is "an unconstitutional attempt by the Pentagon to prevent independent reporting on military affairs," a Times spokesman, Charlie Stadtlander, said in an email to The Associated Press. "As we have said before: Americans deserve visibility into how their government is being run, and the actions the military is taking in their name and with their tax dollars." On X, Defence Department spokesperson Sean Parnell called the Times' latest lawsuit "nothing more than an attempt to remove the barriers to them getting their hands on classified information." Continuing tension between the administration and the media ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Times lawsuit is another salvo in what has become an escalating tension between the U

Pentagon releases UFO files, says public can draw its own conclusions

The Pentagon has begun releasing new files on UFOs, saying members of the public can draw their own conclusions on "unidentified anomalous phenomena." In addition to the Pentagon, the effort is led by the White House, the director of national intelligence, the Energy Department, NASA and the FBI. The Pentagon said Friday in a post on X that while past administrations sought to discredit or dissuade the American people, President Donald Trump "is focused on providing maximum transparency to the public, who can ultimately make up their own minds about the information contained in these files." The Pentagon says additional documents will be released on a rolling basis.

Tech giants Microsoft, Amazon hand Pentagon more control over AI systems

Nvidia Corp., Microsoft Corp., Reflection AI Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. have all newly struck agreements with the US Defence Department 'for lawful operational use' of its AI systems

Pentagon claims US blockade has cost Iran nearly $4.8 bn in oil revenue

The Department of War assessment suggests Iran has been denied close to $5 billion in oil earnings due to disruptions linked to US enforcement operations in the region

Pentagon ties up with AI firms, keeps Anthropic out over supply-chain risks

The Pentagon labeled the AI start-up, which is widely used across the Department of Defense, a supply-chain risk earlier this year, barring its use by the Pentagon and its contractors

Pentagon pegs Iran war cost at $25 bn as Hegseth slams US Congress critics

During his first public appearance on Capitol Hill since the war began, the defence secretary lashed out at lawmakers in both parties who have questioned the conflict