PENTAGON

When Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen launched missiles and hit three commercial ships in the Red Sea, it triggered an immediate question: Will the U.S. military strike back.

The Biden administration is sending a new $175 million package of military aid to Ukraine.

On the brink of joining NATO, Sweden has signed a defense cooperation agreement with Washington that will allow the United States access to all of the military bases across the Scandinavian country, saying the deal would bolster regional security.

The Senate in a single stroke has approved about 425 military promotions after Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama ended a monthslong blockade of nominations over a Pentagon abortion policy.

The U.S. military says three commercial ships in the Red Sea were struck by ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen, and a U.S. warship shot down three drones in self-defense during the hourslong assault.

Senate Democrats have moved to temporarily change Senate rules and confirm hundreds of military nominees.

The Pentagon and U.S. officials say U.S. fighter aircraft have conducted airstrikes on locations in eastern Syria involving Iranian-backed groups, likely causing casualties and destroying weapons stored at the two targets struck — a training location and a safe house.

U.S. European Command says a U.S. military aircraft has gone down over the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The Pentagon says the U.S. has carried out an airstrike on a weapons warehouse in eastern Syria.

The Senate has confirmed three top military officers, including the first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Republican senators have angrily challenged Sen. Tommy Tuberville on his blockade of almost 400 military officers.

The Pentagon says U.S. fighter jets launched airstrikes early Friday on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

China said the United States is the “biggest disruptor of regional peace and stability” in the world in a scathing response to a Pentagon report on China’s growing military buildup.

A Pentagon report on China’s military power says Beijing is on track to significantly increase its nuclear weapons arsenal by 2030 and is “almost certainly” learning lessons from Russia’s war in Ukraine about what a conflict over Taiwan might look like.

Within hours of the horrific attack by Hamas, the U.S. began moving warships and aircraft to the region to be ready to provide Israel with whatever it needed to respond.

The Pentagon calls it FrankenSAM.

North Korea has slammed the United States over a Pentagon report that labeled it a “persistent" threat because of weapons of mass destruction, saying it will strongly counter what it called U.S. plans for aggression.

When U.S. lawmakers approved a spending bill Saturday that averted a widely expected government shutdown, the measure didn’t include the $6 billion in military assistance that Ukraine said it urgently needed.

A Senate hearing on the nomination of the official to be the Pentagon’s top policy adviser was dominated by Republicans expressing their frustrations with the Biden administration’s foreign policies.

The Senate is confirming three of the Pentagon’s top leaders, filling the posts after monthslong delays and as a Republican senator is still holding up hundreds of other nominations and promotions for military officers.

The Pentagon is beginning a new effort to contact former service members who may have been forced out of the military and deprived of years of benefits due to policies targeting their sexual orientation, starting with those who served under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”.

Bells tolled at ground zero and solemn tributes unfolded across the country as Americans looked back on the horror and legacy of 9/11.

Military officials say an Alabama senator's hold on top promotions in a clash over abortion policy raises national security concerns.

The Biden administration will send an additional $250 million in weapons and ammunition to Ukraine as part of its ongoing support of Kyiv's counteroffensive.

The U.S. is joining NATO allies in hosting training for Ukrainian pilots on U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, beginning at an Arizona Air National Guard base in October.

A new report says female soldiers face rampant sexism, sexual harassment and other gender-related challenges in male dominated Army special operations units.

The Pentagon will provide Ukraine with $200 million in weapons and ammunition to help sustain its counteroffensive as troops on the front lines face significant hurdles against a well-entrenched Russian defense.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is warning that troop readiness and retention is at risk as the Army’s chief recently stepped down, leaving the military’s two ground combat forces without Senate-confirmed leaders for the first time in history.

The U.S. military is considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, in what would be an unheard of action aimed at stopping Iran from seizing and harassing civilian vessels.

A top Pentagon official has attacked this week’s widely watched congressional hearing on UFOs.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has met with Papua New Guinea leaders to discuss developing the Pacific Island nation’s military strength and deepening security ties, as the U.S. competes with China for influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

The White House has nominated a career airlift and cargo pilot with key deployments in Afghanistan and Europe to serve as the Air Force's next top general.

A former Air Force intelligence officer has testified that the U.S. is concealing a longstanding program that retrieves and reverse engineers unidentified flying objects.

The Biden administration is sending up to $400 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, including a variety of munitions for advanced air defense systems and a number of small, surveillance Hornet drones.

The Pentagon is announcing a new $1.3 billion package of long-term military aid to Ukraine on Wednesday, including four air defense systems and an undisclosed number of drones.

The U.S. is sending additional fighter jets and a warship to the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman to increase security in the wake of Iranian attempts to seize commercial ships there.

Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville is waging an unprecedented campaign to try to change Pentagon abortion policy by holding up hundreds of military nominations and promotions.

The House has passed a sweeping defense bill that provides a pay raise for service members but strays from traditional military policy with Republicans add-ons blocking abortion coverage, diversity initiatives at the Pentagon and transgender care.

President Joe Biden's administration has decided to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine for the war against Russia, but the United Nations urges the warring countries to avoid using them.

The top American military officer says the U.S. is considering providing cluster munitions to Ukraine.

The Biden administration is sending up to $500 million in military aid to Ukraine, including more than 50 heavily armored vehicles and an infusion of missiles for air defense systems.

The Pentagon says it overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion over the past two years, resulting in a surplus that will be used for future security packages.

The State Department says the U.S. will deliver a new package of military aid to Ukraine, that totals up to $325 million, and will include a wide range of rockets, missiles and other munitions aimed at bolstering the counteroffensive against Russia that is in its early stages.

Hopes have been dashed for an imminent end to a Senate standoff that has delayed the promotions of more than 200 military officers and could delay the confirmation of President Joe Biden’s pick for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The Pentagon says it will provide an additional $2.1 billion in long-term weapons aid for Ukraine.

President Joe Biden’s administration has stopped U.S. military bases from hosting drag shows after criticism from some Republicans.

Half of the people in the U.S. support the Pentagon’s ongoing supply of weapons to Ukraine for its defense against Russian forces.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says he won’t support a fellow GOP senator’s blockade of military nominees, backing Democrats and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who have said that the holdup is harming national security.

The U.S. is sending Ukraine about $300 million in additional military aid, including an enormous amount of artillery rounds, howitzers, air-to-ground rockets and ammunition as the launch of the spring offensive against Russian forces approaches.

The Biden administration will send 1,500 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border amid an expected migrant surge following the end of coronavirus pandemic-era restrictions.

The U.S. has transferred Guantanamo detainee Said bin Brahim bin Umran Bakush back to his home country of Algeria citing that his continued detention was no longer necessary, the Department of Defense announced Thursday.

A Massachusetts Air National Guard member has been arrested in connection with the disclosure of highly classified military documents about the Ukraine war and other top national security issues.

The Pentagon says online leaks of scores of highly classified documents about the Ukraine war present a “very serious” risk to national security and senior leaders are quickly taking steps to mitigate the damage.

The Justice Department has launched an investigation into the possible release of Pentagon documents that were posted on several social media sites and appear to detail U.S. and NATO aid to Ukraine, but may have been altered or used as part of a misinformation campaign.

The Biden administration says the U.S. will send Ukraine about $500 million in ammunition and equipment and spend more than $2 billion to buy an array of munitions, radar and other weapons for that country in the future.

The top U.S. military officer says the Pentagon “has a long ways to go” to beef up its munitions stockpiles and ensure the country is ready for any large-scale war.

Pentagon leaders have told Congress that the U.S. military must be ready for possible confrontation with China.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles says his country made no promises to the United States that Australia would support its ally in any future conflict over Taiwan in exchange for American nuclear-powered submarines.

A Pentagon study has found high rates of cancer among military pilots and, for the first time, shows that ground crews who fuel, maintain and launch those aircraft are also getting sick.

Morning 4 is a quick roundup of stories we think you should know about to start your day.

The Biden administration has released video of a Russian fighter jet dumping fuel on a U.S. Air Force surveillance drone, as the U.S. sought to hold Russia responsible for the collision that led to the drone’s crash into the Black Sea without escalating already fraught tensions with the Kremlin.

The Pentagon's inspector general says his office has found no evidence yet that any of the billions of dollars in weapons and aid to Ukraine has been lost to corruption or diverted into the wrong hands.

An independent panel says the Defense Department should implement a series of gun safety measures to reduce suicides in the force.

The Biden administration is declaring its solidarity with Ukraine by piling sweeping new sanctions on Moscow and approving a fresh $2 billion weapons package for Kyiv.

The Pentagon is announcing a new package of long-term security assistance for Ukraine.

A U.S. military fighter jet has shot down an unknown object flying off the northern coast of Alaska.

When a giant Chinese balloon made an uninvited visit to the United States, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin turned to a hotline system set up with Beijing to defuse the situation.

The Chinese balloon drifting high above the U.S. and first revealed over Montana has created a buzz down below among residents — and raised a chorus of alarm from elected officials.

A huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon is sailing across the U.S. The spectacle drew severe Pentagon accusations of spying on Friday, while sending some excited or alarmed Americans outside with binoculars.

The U.S. says it is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over U.S. airspace for a couple days.

The Pentagon says the U.S. will send 90 Stryker combat vehicles and an additional 59 Bradley fighting vehicles to Ukraine, in addition to hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition.

A Russian spy ship has been patrolling off the coast of Hawaii but so far has remained in international waters.

The White House has announced a new $3.75 billion military assistance package to help Ukraine and its neighbors on NATO's eastern flank as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine grinds on.

Officials tell The Associated Press the U.S. will send $1.8 billion in military aid to Ukraine in a massive package that will for the first time include a Patriot missile battery and precision-guided bombs for their fighter jets.

A new Pentagon office set up to track reports of unidentified flying objects has received “several hundreds” of new reports, but no evidence so far of alien life.

U.S. officials say the Pentagon will expand military combat training for Ukrainian forces, using the slower winter months to instruct larger units in more complex battle skills.

U.S. officials say the Biden administration is poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, finally agreeing to an urgent request from Ukrainian leaders desperate for more robust weapons to shoot down incoming Russian missiles.

China's Defense Ministry says the country strictly adheres to a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons “at any time and under any circumstances."

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the U.S. is at a pivotal point with China and will need military strength to ensure that American values, not Beijing’s, set global norms in the 21st century.

NATO member and Russia’s neighbor Estonia is boosting its defense capabilities by acquiring an advanced U.S. rocket artillery system.

The United States' newest nuclear stealth bomber has made its public debut after years of secret development.

A new Pentagon report warns that China continues to rapidly modernize its nuclear force and is on track to have 1,500 active warheads by 2035.

The intense firefight over Ukraine has the Pentagon rethinking its weapons stockpiles.

The United States is sending an additional $400 million in ammunition and generators to Ukraine.

The U.S. will send $400 million more in military aid to Ukraine amid concerns financial assistance for the war against Russia could decline if Republicans take control of Congress.

The Pentagon says the U.S. is sending Ukraine another $400 million in military aid and establishing a security assistance headquarters in Germany that will oversee all weapons transfers and military training for Ukraine.

The U.S. and South Korea are jointly warning North Korea that use of any kind of nuclear weapon against Seoul or other regional allies would result in the end of Kim Jong Un’s regime.

The Biden administration says Russia has given notice that it intends to stage routine drills of its nuclear capabilities amid heightened tensions over the war in Ukraine.

Ash Carter, the Obama administration defense secretary who opened military combat jobs to women, has died at age 68.

A new report and Pentagon data show that suicides across the active duty U.S. military decreased over the past 18 months, driven by sharp drops in the Air Force and Marine Corps last year and a similar decline among Army soldiers during the first six months of this year.

Ukrainian leaders are pressing the U.S. and Western allies for air defense systems and longer-range weapons to keep up the momentum in their counteroffensive against Russia and fight back against Moscow’s intensified attacks.

The Pentagon will deliver the first two advanced NASAMS anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine in the next two months, providing Kyiv with a weapon that it has pressed for since earlier this year.

President Joe Biden marked the 21st anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, taking part in a somber wreath-laying ceremony at the Pentagon in a somber commemoration held under a steady rain.

Americans are remembering 9/11 with tear-choked tributes and pleas to “never forget,” 21 years after the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil.

Defense officials say that as other nations see the impact of U.S. weapons in the Ukraine war, the Pentagon is getting more requests for them.

The White House says President Joe Biden will mark the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Sunday by delivering remarks and laying a wreath at the Pentagon.

The U.S. military says four Iranian-backed militia members have been killed in U.S. strikes in Syria in response to recent attacks by the group.

The Pentagon has rejected a request from the District of Columbia seeking National Guard assistance for the thousands of migrants being bused to the city from two southern states.

The U.S. will spend $1.3 billion to develop advanced satellites that will be able to better track hypersonic missile threats.

The Pentagon says it has killed a leader of the Islamic State group in Syria in a drone strike.