US Defense Department

Esper named new US acting defense secretary after Shanahan withdraws

US President Donald Trump said his pick for defense secretary, Patrick Shanahan, has withdrawn, leaving the Pentagon without a permanent boss for more than six months

Read More »

Questions SecDef nominee Shanahan should – but won’t – be asked

Gregory D. Foster proposes questions that would shed much-needed light on the thinking of Patrick Shanahan who is about to officially occupy the Defense Secretary post

Read More »

Sierra Nevada awarded 5-year Afghanistan A-29 training contract as US shifts to in-country instruction

Sierra Nevada was awarded a $43 million contract for A-29 Super Tucano training for Afghanistan as the US transitions to in-country training

Read More »

Boeing awarded $2.5 billion for 19 P-8A Poseidon aircraft for US Navy, UK and Norway

Boeing was awarded an almost $2.5 billion contract to produce 19 P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for the U.S. Navy, Norway and the UK

Read More »

Order signed to withdraw US troops from Syria

The order to withdraw US troops from Syria has been signed, the military said after President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart agreed to prevent a power vacuum

Read More »

‘We need time’: Incredulous US officials hustled to alert ‘shocked’ allies about Trump’s Syria withdrawal

US State and Defense departments hurried to rework plans in the wake of Trump’s shock decision to pull troops from Syria

Read More »

US will continue Syria air campaign as long as American troops are on the ground

Pentagon says the US will continue its air campaign against ISIS in Syria as long as American troops are on the ground, but will not "speculate on future operations"

Read More »

Trump administration struggles to explain US military role in Syria

Recent Pentagon, State Department and White House statements send mixed signals about a future US military presence in Syria, and if it is focused on countering Iran

Read More »

NATO refurbishes Afghan Mi-17 helicopters in Europe as shift to Black Hawk continues

Three Afghan Mi-17 helicopters refurbished by NATO in Europe will be operational within weeks, as the US continues to build the Afghan Air Force's UH-60 Black Hawk capacity

Read More »

Ukraine to get $200 million from Pentagon for additional training, equipment and advisory efforts

The U.S. Department of Defense announced $200 million in additional assistance to Kiev to boost the defensive capacity of Ukraine's forces.

Read More »