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Space Force’s 15-year vision calls for more personnel, simulators and survivability
A new Space Force vision document grapples with the future of space warfare and how the service can prepare for it.
US Air Force wants better infrared jammers for its combat rescue helicopters
The HH-60W, recently used to rescue downed pilots in Iran, lacks a capable infrared countermeasure system, Air Force Material Command said.
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Defense News is covering the evolving military, strategic, and regional implications of tensions and operations involving Iran.
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Military Times has outlined helpful information about car insurance, renters insurance, and life insurance for troops.
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Read up on tips and tricks in Military Times’ 2025 Permanent Change of Station Guide.
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Learn how your military benefits — including health care, retirement pay and more — have changed in 2025.
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Your Air Force
Unregulated prediction market may endanger US national security, experts and lawmakers warn
With how futures markets are structured, officials could place bets anonymously and influence combat operations to ensure they get a payout, experts say.
US Navy destroyer fires on cargo vessel attempting to sail to Iranian port
The USS Spruance "disabled Touska’s propulsion by firing several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 Gun into Touska’s engine room," CENTCOM stated.
Opinion
How chest-thumping rhetoric erodes service member safety
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's brash rhetoric is profoundly destabilizing for actively-serving military families, this military spouse argues.
Advocates press for preventive programs, VA benefits for struggling vets
Representatives from specialty courts and veterans’ legal organizations pressed Congress Wednesday for expansion of the Veterans Treatment Courts system.
In other news
Starlink outage hit drone tests, exposing Pentagon’s growing reliance on SpaceX
Last August, a global outage across Elon Musk’s satellite network left U.S. Navy unmanned surface vessels bobbing off California, halting operations.
Sailor reportedly finds dead rat in finished energy drink
The sailor said medical personnel informed him, “with the chemicals that are in Monster, that it should be OK.”
That time the Air Force proposed making a ‘gay bomb’
The Air Force once explored the idea of a chemical weapon that would make enemy soldiers sexually irresistible to one another — striking a blow to morale.
Master Chief actor condemns use of character in White House’s Iran war hype video
“I demand that the producers of this disgusting and juvenile war porn remove my voice immediately,” Steve Downes wrote in a post on X.
‘War Machine’ review: Finally, a training scenario with aliens
The sci-fi flick raises the premise: What if the final phase of U.S. Army Ranger selection suddenly involved fighting a giant alien robot?
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Beating UAV threats starts with time—and better radar
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Air Force hits fiscal 2026 recruitment goal ahead of schedule
Five months ahead of the end of fiscal 2026, the Air Force and Space Force achieved their recruiting goal in part to the Delayed Entry Program.
Combat search and rescue’s uncertain future: As A-10s phase out, US Air Force faces questions of what comes next
The U.S. Air Force is moving forward with plans to retire the A-10, which for decades has proven ideally suited for combat search-and-rescue operations.
By Michael Scanlon
Advocates press for preventive programs, VA benefits for struggling vets
Representatives from specialty courts and veterans’ legal organizations pressed Congress Wednesday for expansion of the Veterans Treatment Courts system.
By Patricia Kime
Starlink outage hit drone tests, exposing Pentagon’s growing reliance on SpaceX
Last August, a global outage across Elon Musk’s satellite network left U.S. Navy unmanned surface vessels bobbing off California, halting operations.
By David Jeans, Reuters
Army veteran tasked with prosecuting Nazi death squads awarded Congressional Gold Medal
Ben Ferencz was just 27 with no previous trial experience when he became chief prosecutor in one of the most significant murder trials in history.
White House offers no hint of Iran war cost as it seeks military funding surge
"I don't have a ballpark," White House budget director Russell Vought told lawmakers Wednesday about the cost of the Iran war.
By Nolan D. McCaskill and David Morgan, Reuters
US Air Force debuts operational AI wargame system
WarMatrix is an AI-powered system meant to keep human judgement central to wargaming and was marked operational during an event in late March.
Suicide rates among military families continue to climb
The total overall number decreased, a drop that coincides with smaller overall force numbers.
By Patricia Kime
Bill from vets in Congress would keep military roles open to women
The bill, which lacks Republican sponsors, is explicitly described as a response to the Pentagon review of women in ground combat roles.
By Hope Hodge Seck
100-year-old B-17 turret gunner knighted by France
Phillip “Bruce” Cook flew 35 missions as a ball turret gunner in a B-17 Flying Fortress, tasked with fighting for air supremacy over occupied Europe.
Pentagon’s women-in-combat review reassigned; deadline extended
A Pentagon-ordered review on the effectiveness of women in combat is now under new management, Military Times has learned.
Vietnam veteran’s gravestone somber reminder of war’s toll
The gravestone is evidence that Vietnam veteran Eugene “Gene” Marion Simmers carried the burden of decades-long grief and trauma.
US blockade of Iran will be major military endeavor, experts say
The U.S. military has not offered basic details yet about the blockade, including how many U.S. warships will enforce it.
By Phil Stewart
US Navy to blockade Strait of Hormuz ‘effective immediately,’ Trump says
“Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!” the president wrote on Sunday.
By Saad Sayeed, Asif Shahzad and Mubasher Bukhari, Reuters
US military begins clearing Strait of Hormuz, Trump says
Reports emerged Saturday about the presence of U.S. Navy ships in the strait.
By Reuters
The only Navy Seabee awarded the nation’s highest award for valor
The early, brutal battle to protect a Special Forces camp near Dong Xoai changed the course of the Vietnam War. Marvin Shields gave his all in its defense.
By Jon Guttman