The U.S. on Jan. 7 seized two oil tankers linked to Venezuela, including the Russian-flagged Marinera oil tanker formerly known as the Bella-1 that had evaded a U.S. blockade back in December.
The fleet of U.S. warships assembled in the Caribbean Sea during the run-up to Jan. 3’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has begun to thin, officials said Jan. 7, though the Trump administration is expected to continue military operations in the region.
President Donald Trump on Jan. 7 proposed setting U.S. military spending at $1.5 trillion in 2027, citing “troubled and dangerous times.”
President Donald Trump issued an executive order Jan. 7 that prohibits defense companies from making share repurchases and paying dividends to shareholders, as well as places restrictions on executive compensation, unless companies make investments to modernize weapons production facilities.
The Trump administration told lawmakers that the Justice Department developed a new legal opinion to justify the operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a lawmaker and two other people familiar with the discussions said Jan. 7, amid concerns about large-scale U.S. military actions in the country.
Images showing an MH-6 Little Bird taking part in the Jan. 7 operation to seize the runaway Russian-flagged oil tanker Marinera, hundreds of miles away from the nearest land, were widely met with befuddlement. This is a relatively tiny special operations helicopter that cannot be refueled in flight and has a short range. However, its small size and incredible transportability means that it can appear from virtually anywhere, on land or at sea.
Just as it is for all Joint Force missions, space support was essential to the success of the US military’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, according to U.S. Space Command.
Pentagon policies that forbid troops from repairing and modifying their weapons and gear are hindering efforts to accelerate U.S. operations with ground and air robots, special operators and defense experts warn.
Defense technology executive and Project Maven alum Cameron Stanley is the frontrunner to serve as the next Chief Digital and AI Officer at the Pentagon, DefenseScoop has learned.
A Georgia Airman earned an Air Force Achievement Medal for helping local law enforcement in the capture of a fugitive wanted for murder. Airman 1st Class Ryland Perez-Settle, a fire team member assigned to the 822nd Base Defense Squadron, recognized his friend from the news after returning from leave, according to a Moody Air Force Base statement. “Torn between friendship and duty, he chose justice, a decision that brought peace to a grieving family, closure to a community, and an Air Force Achievement Medal to an Airman who proved that integrity doesn’t end when the uniform comes off,” the statement reads.
