Page 3 - Us Military

US rules out putting troops in Ukraine on ground; may give air support

Trump's remark comes a day after he pledged security guarantees to Ukraine at the White House during a meeting with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and seven European leaders

South Korea, US launch annual military drills against North Korean threats

South Korea and the United States began their annual large-scale joint military exercise on Monday to better cope with threats by nuclear-armed North Korea, which has warned the drills would deepen regional tensions and vowed to respond to any provocation against its territory. The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield, the second of two large-scale exercises held annually in South Korea, after another set in March, will involve 21,000 soldiers, including 18,000 South Koreans, in computer-simulated command post operations and field training. The drills, which the allies describe as defensive, could trigger a response from North Korea, which has long portrayed the allies' exercises as invasion rehearsals and has often used them as a pretext for military demonstrations and weapons tests aimed at advancing its nuclear programme. In a statement last week, North Korean Defence Minister No Kwang Chol said the drills show the allies' stance of military confrontation with the North and declared that

To Lose a War: How the US slowly lost its way in Afghanistan conflict

A gripping account of two decades in Afghanistan, tracing the Taliban's fall, America's missteps, and the enduring human cost in Jon Lee Anderson's To Lose a War

Donald Trump's Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk's SpaceX

The shift marks a strategic pivot away from reliance on Musk's SpaceX, whose Starlink and Starshield satellite networks have become central to US military communications

US expands militarised zones to 1/3 of southern border, stirs controversy

Orange no-entry signs posted by the US military in English and Spanish dot the New Mexico desert, where a border wall cuts past onion fields and parched ranches with tufts of tall grass growing amidst wiry brush and yucca trees. The Army has posted thousands of the warnings in New Mexico and western Texas, declaring a restricted area by authority of the commander. It's part of a major shift that has thrust the military into border enforcement with Mexico like never before. The move places long stretches of the border under the supervision of nearby military bases, empowering US troops to detain people who enter the country illegally and sidestep a law prohibiting military involvement in civilian law enforcement. It is done under the authority of the national emergency on the border declared by President Donald Trump on his first day in office. US authorities say the zones are needed to close gaps in border enforcement and help in the wider fight against human smuggling networks an

Trump admin expands military's role at border to the southern tip of Texas

The Department of Defense is expanding a militarised zone along the southern US border where troops are authorised to detain people who enter illegally for possible federal prosecution on charges of trespassing in a national defence area. The Air Force announced Monday the annexation of a serpentine 250-mile (400-kilometre) stretch of the border in Texas amid a buildup of military forces under President Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the border. A Defense Department official said the Navy also has been instructed to establish a new national defence area at the border. The official didn't provide further details. The newly designated national defence area on land and water along the Rio Grande spans two Texas counties and runs alongside cities including Brownsville and McAllen. It will be treated as an extension of Joint Base San Antonio. The Air Force said it's prepared to install warning signs immediately against entry to the area. The military strategy was pioneere

From stealth pioneer to spy: How a Mumbai-born engineer helped China build a B-2 bomber lookalike

Noshir Gowadia, once a key architect behind America's cutting-edge B-2 stealth bomber, betrayed US military secrets to China.

A look at Al Udeid Air Base, US military site in Qatar that Iran attacked

Iran retaliated Monday for the US attacks on its nuclear sites by targeting Al Udeid Air Base, a sprawling desert facility in Qatar that serves as a main regional military hub for American forces. A US defence official says no casualties have been reported. As of this month, the US military had about 40,000 service members in the Middle East, according to a US official. Many of them are on ships at sea as part of a bolstering of forces as the conflict escalated between Israel and Iran, according to the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations research and policy centre. Bases in the Middle East have been on heightened alert and taking additional security precautions in anticipation of potential strikes from Iran, while the Pentagon has shifted military aircraft and warships into and around the region during the conflict. The US has military sites spread across the region, including in Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab

US moves military assets, limits access to its largest base in Middle East

The moves come as President Donald Trump kept the world guessing whether the United States would join Israel's bombardment of Iran's nuclear and missile sites

Why Israel can't easily strike Fordow, Iran's underground nuclear site

With Iran's Fordo nuclear site buried deep in a mountain, Israel lacks both the weaponry and political support to mount a successful strike

Trump marks birthday with Army parade as 'No Kings' protests sweep US

On his 79th birthday and the US Army's 250th anniversary, US President Donald Trump held a military parade in Washington while mass demonstrations across cities decried authoritarianism

200 Marines moved into Los Angeles to protect federal property, personnel

About 200 Marines have moved into Los Angeles and will protect federal property, personnel, the commander in charge says. Maj Gen Scott Sherman, commander of Task Force 51 who is overseeing the 4,700 troops deployed, said Friday that the Marines have finished training on civil disturbance. Sherman said the Marines would take over their operations at noon local time in downtown Los Angeles. The development comes a day after the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked a federal judge's order that had directed President Donald Trump to return control of National Guard troops to California, shortly after a federal judge had ruled the Guard deployment was illegal and both violated the Tenth Amendment and exceeded Trump's statutory authority.

Denmark approves US military bases amid renewed interest in Greenland

Denmark's Parliament on Wednesday approved a bill to allow the United States to have military bases on Danish soil, a move that comes as US President Donald Trump seeks to take control of the kingdom's semi-autonomous territory of Greenland. Critics say the vote ceded Danish sovereignty to the US. The legislation widens a previous military agreement, made in 2023 with the Biden administration, where US troops had broad access to Danish airbases in the Scandinavian country. The new parameters follow Trump's coveting of the strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island even as the US and Denmark are NATO allies. The legislation now goes to Danish King Frederik X for his signature. Ninety-four lawmakers voted for it, while 11 voted against. Greenland's prime minister previously said US statements about the island have been disrespectful and it will never, ever be a piece of property that can be bought by just anyone.

Japan expands military build-up against China with US stand in doubt

For the first time, Japan sent destroyers through the Taiwan Strait on two occasions in recent months

Hotline between military, Washington air traffic controllers down for 3 yrs

A hotline between military and civilian air traffic controllers in Washington, D.C., that hasn't worked for more than three years may have contributed to another near miss shortly after the US Army resumed flying helicopters in the area for the first time since January's deadly midair collision between a passenger jet and a Black Hawk helicopter, Sen. Ted Cruz said at a hearing Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration official in charge of air traffic controllers, Frank McIntosh, confirmed the agency didn't even know the hotline hadn't been working since March 2022 until after the latest near miss. He said civilian controllers still have other means of communicating with their military counterparts through landlines. Still, the FAA insists the hotline be fixed before helicopter flights resume around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Defence department officials didn't immediately respond to questions Wednesday about the near miss earlier this month and the steps it is

US to begin removal of 1,000 transgender troops under Pentagon directive

The US Supreme Court on May 6 allowed the Trump administration to begin executing its ban on transgender military service members

UK military launches airstrikes with US targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels

The British military launched airstrikes with the United States targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels, officials said early Wednesday, their first involvement with America's new intense campaign targeting the Iranian-backed group. The United Kingdom offered a detailed explanation of its reason to launch the strike, in a departure from the US, which has offered few details about the more than 800 strikes it has conducted since beginning its campaign March 15. The campaign, called Operation Rough Rider, has been targeting the rebels as the Trump administration negotiates with their main benefactor, Iran, over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear programme. UK strike hit near Yemen's capital, Sanaa The UK's Defence Ministry described the site attacked as a cluster of buildings, used by the Houthis to manufacture drones of the type used to attack ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, located some 25 kilometres south of Sanaa. Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s took part in the raid, dropping Pave

US deploys anti-ship missiles in Philippines, holds live-fire drills

The US military has deployed an anti-ship missile launcher for the first time on Batan Island in the Philippines, as Marines unloaded the high-precision weapon on the northern tip of the archipelago, just a sea border away from Taiwan. US and Philippine forces separately unleashed a barrage of missile and artillery fire that shot down several drones acting as hostile aircraft in live-fire drills on Sunday in Zambales province facing the disputed South China Sea. The mock battle scenarios over the weekend in the annual Balikatan exercises between the US and its oldest treaty ally in Asia, the Philippines, not only simulated real-life war. They were also staged near major geopolitical hotspots, which have become delicate frontlines in the regional rivalry between China and the US under former President Joe Biden and now Donald Trump. About 9,000 American and 5,000 Filipino military personnel took part in the combat maneuvers. At least 260 Australian personnel also joined, with smalle

US military veteran hijacks plane in Belize, shot before plane lands safely

An American military veteran was fatally shot after he hijacked a small passenger plane in Belize on Thursday, officials in Belize and the United States confirmed. After the Tripoc Air plane carrying 14 passengers and two crew members landed safely, police in Belize identified the hijacker as Akinyela Taylor. Chester Williams, Belize police commissioner, said that Taylor wielded a knife and stabbed two passengers and a pilot on the plane. The three were later taken to the hospital to treat their injuries. Williams said that Taylor was shot by a passenger who was licensed to carry a firearm, which he later turned over to police. The passenger was among those stabbed and remains in critical condition as he was stabbed in the back and lungs, according to the police commissioner. We are praying for him, Williams told reporters. He's our hero. Williams said that Taylor was demanding that he be flown out of the country and at one point wanted the plane to land to add fuel. US Embassy ..