The US will likely not shoot down a North Korean test ICBM if fired, instead will use such a test by dictator Kim Jong Un as an intelligence-gathering opportunity. Kim said last week that his country is close to test-launching an ICBM, with North Korean state media reporting that the regime will launch a missile “anytime and anywhere.” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Tuesday the US will certainly intercept a North Korean ICBM if it is threatening. “If it’s not threatening, we won’t necessarily do so,” he said. In that case, it would be more advantageous to save the US’s interceptor inventory and gather intelligence from that flight, he said.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth vowed to undertake far-reaching reforms on the way the U.S. military buys weapons, promising a sweeping overhaul of the way the Defense Department determines requirements, handles the acquisition process, and tests its kit. The fundamental goal, which Hegseth underscored in a 1-hour and 10-minute speech…
