Shortly after U.S. forces captured Venezuela’s leader, President Trump said that Cuba’s days were numbered and that his administration may turn its sights on the Communist island next.
The Trump administration’s use of American military might to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro cemented its hard power pivot to the Western Hemisphere—an action that has raised fears within the Pentagon that China’s rise will go unchecked.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Jan. 5 moved to demote Sen. Mark Kelly’s (D-Ariz.) military rank over his participation in a November video with five other Democrats in which they reminded U.S. service members they can refuse illegal orders from higher-ups.
North Korea said Jan. 5 that leader Kim Jong Un observed test-flights of hypersonic missiles and underscored the need to bolster the country’s nuclear war deterrent, as the country dials up weapons displays ahead of its major political conference.
As the U.S. Space Force enters 2026 amid escalating threats from China and Russia, the service faces a pivotal year as it transitions to full-spectrum warfighting.
“On Nov. 7, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth declared that ‘Acquisition is now a warfighting function.’ With those six words, he did more than simply rename the Defense Acquisition System—he fundamentally transformed what it means to be an acquisition professional,” write Gen. Dale R. White, the first-ever Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Critical Major Weapons Systems; Lt. Gen. Robert M. Collins, the Principal Military Deputy, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics and Technology); VADM Seiko Okano, the Principal Military Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition; and Maj. Gen. Stephen G. Purdy, the Military Deputy, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Space Acquisition and Integration).
Sitting in a hangar in the exurbs of Washington, D.C., at first glance electric aircraft startup Electra’s yellow and black hybrid-electric EL9 looks like many other aircraft parked at the regional airport. But a key difference quickly becomes apparent upon closer inspection, what the company calls the aircraft’s secret sauce for ultra-short takeoff and landing: Rather than a more traditional one- or two-prop propeller design, the EL9 sports eight electric rotors distributed along a fixed wing.
Airmen who maintain B-52 Stratofortress bombers won the Air Force’s top innovation prize after designing a simple adapter that makes one of their most dangerous maintenance jobs faster and safer.
Imagine if you will, a low-cost, small weapons system. It could fly stealthily into enemy territory, not being mistaken for a bomber or any kind of missile. And then it could detonate a nuclear weapon onboard, hitting a desired target. That system? A balloon.
