Beijing, May 15 (IANS) When US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing this week, their cordial exchange of pleasantries, a firm handshake and emphasis on cooperation fueled cautious optimism about relations between the two superpowers.However, a lack of major breakthroughs on complex issues, including the status of Taiwan, underscored the persistent challenges facing the Sino-US relationship amid increasingly rancorous competition over trade, security and technolo…
Latest Pentagon News & Updates
Washington, May 15 (IANS) The Pentagon is aggressively restructuring its science and technology apparatus around artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and low-cost weapons as senior US defence officials warned lawmakers that future battlefields will be defined by speed, data dominance and mass deployment of affordable combat systems.At a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing on science, technology and innovation posture, senior Department of Defense officials said the US military was r…
Washington, May 14 (IANS) Senior US Air Force officials told lawmakers that the rapidly evolving threat from China is forcing the Pentagon to reassess whether the planned fleet of 100 B-21 bombers will be enough, as Congress pressed the military on ageing aircraft, tanker vulnerabilities and drone threats.Testifying before the House Armed Services subcommittee on projection forces, Lieutenant General David Tabor said the Air Force now believes it may need more than the currently planned fleet of…
Washington, May 13 (IANS) US Senator Lindsey Graham publicly questioned Pakistan’s credibility as a “mediator” in the Iran conflict after raising allegations that Iranian aircraft may have been parked at Pakistani air bases.The sharp exchange came during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget, where lawmakers repeatedly pressed Pentagon officials over the widening Middle East conflict and the continuing cl…
Washington, May 13 (IANS) US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth fiercely defended the Trump administration’s military campaign against Iran, clashed repeatedly with Democratic senators over the soaring costs of the conflict, and insisted the United States still “holds all the cards” despite continued disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.Appearing before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defence alongside Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine, Hegseth also sought to reassure allies in th…
Washington, May 13 (IANS) Pentagon leaders refused to publicly disclose detailed battle damage assessments from the ongoing Iran conflict.The issue became one of the sharpest points of confrontation during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defence hearing on President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget, as lawmakers pressed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine for specifics on Iran’s remaining missile, drone and naval capabilities….
Washington, May 13 (IANS) Democratic senators warned that the Trump administration risked dragging the United States into another prolonged Middle East conflict, as a tense Senate hearing exposed deep divisions over the ongoing war with Iran and its rising economic and military costs.During a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defence hearing on President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget, several Democratic lawmakers compared the current crisis to past US wars in Iraq an…
Seoul, May 12 (IANS) South Korea and the United States have agreed to work together to strengthen cooperation in areas of “mutual security interest,” including Seoul’s push to retake wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington and joint efforts to modernise the alliance.Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth expressed the commitments during their talks at the Pentagon on Monday (US time) as Seoul seeks to regain wartime command from the US as part of broader …
Washington, May 11 (IANS) US military intelligence-gathering flights have increased off the coast of Cuba in recent months, according to a media report published on Monday. Since February 4, the US Navy and Air Force have conducted at least 25 flights, mostly near Havana and Santiago de Cuba, with some coming within 40 miles (64 km) of the coast, said the report, analysing publicly available aviation data from FlightRadar24, a live flight tracker.The missions have predominantly involved P-8A Pos…
Washington, May 7 (IANS) US forces struck and disabled an Iranian-flagged unladen oil tanker sailing toward an Iranian port, the US Central Command said on X.The strike took place at 9 a.m. US Eastern Time on Wednesday, when the targeted vessel, Hasna, was transiting international waters en route to an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman, said the command in a statement.”After Hasna’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings, US forces disabled the tanker’s rudder by firing several rounds from …