Us Pentagon

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 ...

Alibaba sues Pentagon in bid to remove 'Chinese military company' label

The Chinese tech giant Alibaba has sued the US Department of Defence, demanding that it be removed from the Pentagon's list of Chinese military companies that prohibits them from landing US defense contracts and carries reputational damage. In the petition filed this week in the San Jose division of the US District Court in the Northern District of California, Alibaba, which is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, argued that the designation, announced on June 8, has "no basis in fact or law" and that the Pentagon failed to reach its conclusion through any fair process. It is the latest lawsuit by a Chinese company against the Pentagon over such national security labels. In 2021, with some in Washington seeing China as a growing military threat, Congress asked the department to create a list of Chinese companies directly controlled by the Chinese military and security forces, as well as those it believed had contributed to the country's defense industrial base. The curre

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

China condemns US move to blacklist major tech firms over military links

The list includes a broad swathe of China's top technology firms key to advancing Beijing's military and industrial prowess, reflecting Washington's security concerns

Don't know if Claude AI used in strike at Iran school: Anthropic CEO

Dario Amodei said the use case in this instance didn't violate the company's policies, arguing military decision makers make terrible mistakes even at the best of times

Why the US now sees China's tech giants as a national security risk

The Pentagon's latest designation of Alibaba, BYD and Baidu reflects a broader US concern that technologies such as AI, batteries and cloud computing could strengthen China's military capabilities

Pentagon names WuXi AppTec on Chinese military firms list, raising concerns

Any restriction that stems from the designation could have broader implications because WuXi AppTec helps conduct research and development efforts on behalf of many US drugmakers

US Pentagon adds Alibaba, BYD and Baidu to list of Chinese military firms

The Pentagon has added several prominent Chinese businesses, including tech giant Alibaba, electric car maker BYD and search engine Baidu, to its list of Chinese military companies, preventing them from getting US defense contracts. The list, updated and published Monday by the Pentagon, now sanctions well-known, non-state-owned Chinese companies that are not traditionally considered to be in the defense or security sector. It reflects growing wariness of Beijing's strategy of tapping the strength of non-state businesses for military purposes. Created in 2021 by a congressional mandate, the list seeks to identify Chinese companies that the Pentagon considers to have links to the Chinese military -- not only those directly controlled by the Chinese military and security forces but also those contributing to the country's defense industrial base. When updating the list last year, the Pentagon said the Chinese military sought to acquire advanced technologies and expertise developed by

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

Crew members eject safely after 2 US Navy jets crash during Idaho air show

All four crew members ejected safely after two Navy jets collided and crashed Sunday during an air show at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in western Idaho, officials said. The collision involved two US Navy EA18-G Growlers from the Electronic Attack Squadron 129 in Whidbey Island, Washington, said Cmdr Amelia Umayam, spokesperson for Naval Air Forces, US Pacific Fleet. The aircraft were performing an aerial demonstration when the crash occurred, Umayam said in a statement. The four crew members from both jets safely ejected, and the crash was under investigation, she said. The crew members were in stable condition, base officials said. Nobody at the military base was hurt, said Kim Sykes, marketing director with Silver Wings of Idaho, which helped to plan the air show. "Everyone is safe, and I think that's the most important thing," Sykes said. Planes fell to the ground together ----------------------------------- The base said in a social media post that it was locked down .

Pentagon halts deployments to Poland, Germany to reduce troops in Europe

The Pentagon is drawing down thousands of troops in Europe by cancelling deployments to Poland and Germany as opposed to yanking forces already stationed there, US officials say, as President Donald Trump has tussled with allies over the Iran war and called for changes. Several U.S. officials confirmed that 4,000 troops from the Army's 2nd Armoured Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division were no longer en route to Poland this week. The Trump administration had previously said it was cutting US forces only in Germany, and the decision spurred questions and criticism in both Warsaw and Washington. Two officials told The Associated Press that the deployments were canceled after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memo directing the Joint Chiefs of Staff to move a brigade combat team out of Europe. One of them said the choice of which unit was left to military leaders. Besides the Army combat team based in Fort Hood, Texas, the memo also led to the cancellation of an upcoming ...

US to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany in 6-12 months amid Nato feud

The United States will withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany in the next six to 12 months, the Pentagon said Friday, fulfilling President Donald Trump's threat as he clashes with the German leader over the US war with Iran. Trump had threatened to withdraw some troops from the NATO ally earlier this week after Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US was being "humiliated" by the Iranian leadership and criticised Washington's lack of strategy in the war. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that the "decision follows a thorough review of the Department's force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theatre requirements and conditions on the ground." The US has several major military facilities in Germany, including the headquarters for US European Command and US Africa Command, Ramstein Air Base, and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest American hospital outside the United States. The number of troops leaving Germany would be 14 per cent of the 36,000 .

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 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

US Navy Secretary ousted after infighting with top Pentagon leaders

A White House official said Trump and Hegseth agreed new leadership was needed over the Navy