The White House announced May 13 what it called the “largest defense sales agreement in history,” a series of deals with Saudi Arabia for “state-of-the-art” warfighting equipment and training worth a total of “nearly $142 billion.”
The Trump administration is expected to nominate Vice Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley to lead U.S. Special Operations Command, according to sources familiar with the matter.
When imagery from the Worldview Legion satellites revealed fabric over a large object near a dry dock in North Korea in September, satellite operator Maxar Intelligence knew they needed help. They turned to Umbra Space, a company that focuses on synthetic-aperture radar imagery, for follow-up. Umbra’s sensors are not obstructed by clouds, darkness, or even thin fabrics. Umbra’s team ultimately revealed what was under the netting: the outline of a submarine. Coordinating observations of space-based sensors, known as tipping and cueing, has been an industry goal for decades.
Some Israeli military officials have privately concluded that Palestinians in Gaza face widespread starvation unless aid deliveries are restored within weeks, according to three Israeli defense officials familiar with conditions in the enclave. For months, Israel has maintained that its blockade on food and fuel to Gaza did not pose a major threat to civilian life in the territory, even as the United Nations and other aid agencies have said a famine was looming.
Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee Chairman Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said May 13 he opposes the Trump administration's fiscal year 2026 defense spending request because of its reliance on a "budgetary sleight of hand" that masks a failure to pursue real and sustained growth in Pentagon buying power.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plans to slash the number of senior military leaders across the services would cut more than 120 high-ranking officer jobs in the Active-duty and National Guard, including as many as nine top general slots.
The recent announcement by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth of a 20 percent reduction in the number of four-star general officers in the U.S. military has sent ripples throughout the defense establishment. His intent is clear: streamline senior ranks, flatten bureaucracy, and improve efficiency. As the Department of Defense deliberates on which positions to reduce, it should prioritize warfighting effectiveness.
President Donald Trump announced May 13 that he plans to lift sanctions on Syria following last year’s fall of the Assad regime, saying the move will “give them a chance at greatness.” The removal of the sanctions is a significant win for the Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, who seized power after the stunning defeat of the Assad regime in December.
Israel’s military targeted Hamas’s top leader in Gaza May 13 in an airstrike, which if successful would mark an important military victory at a time when the country is under pressure to wrap up its 18-month-long war in the enclave.
Dozens of families at a New Mexico Air Force base have been suddenly and unexpectedly warned that their children will be disenrolled from the installation's daycare later this month as part of widespread staffing issues seen across the military.
As a key part of China’s “Digital Silk Road 2.0,” the region’s richest capitals have signed a cascade of contracts with Chinese companies over the past two years, but American commanders worry that civilian networks could become antennas for inadvertent—or intentional—collection of military signals.
Days before a surprise U.S. ceasefire agreement with Houthis, U.S. intelligence started picking up indications the Yemeni fighters were looking for an exit after seven weeks of relentless U.S. bombings, four U.S. officials said. Houthi leaders began reaching out sometime around the first weekend in May to U.S. allies in the Middle East, two of the officials said.
The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization on May 13 found Russia responsible for shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine with the loss of 298 lives more than a decade ago, in a ruling that raises the prospect of victims’ families being paid compensation.
“The Bear,” a fictional show about working in a restaurant’s high-stress kitchen, depicts a culinary world of anxiety, toxic work environment, and emotional breakdowns under fluorescent lights. But for anyone who’s ever lived in the barracks, the show feels more like a documentary.
