The extensive deployment and financial burden highlight the strain on US military resources, raising concerns about long-term strategic sustainability.
CryptoBriefing•Editorial Team17 Sept
Trump himself has acknowledged the US need for Canadian aluminum – and has largely exempted metals from new tariffs As trade talks with Canada shambled toward collapse in late August, Donald Trump brayed on Truth Social: “WE DON’T NEED CANADA, THEY NEED US!” But in fact, Canada, like China, has something the US needs badly: critical metals that undergird modern military technology. Canada is the United States’s biggest foreign source of minerals, supplying about $47bin worth each year. Sixty per cent of all the aluminum the US uses each year, for instance, comes from Canada, where mighty, remote rivers provide smelting plants vast quantities of cheap, low-carbon electricity. The US military uses the lightweight metal for everything from shell casings to ship hulls and aircraft fuselage. The Pentagon’s cutting-edge F-35 fighter jet’s airframe is about 40% aluminum. “This country desperately needs aluminum,” Trump complained last month . “We get it all from Canada for the most part, and we need it badly.” Continue reading...
The Guardian•Vince Beiser17 Sept
Internal reports, including one from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, say China could acquire U.S. jet technology through spying or cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
The New York Times•Edward Wong and Dustin Volz16 SeptMilitary leaders warn the risks of falling behind adversaries in artificial intelligence research outweigh the potential risks of the technology.
Days after orbital weapons were revealed, Gen. Dan Caine ups the scope of the military’s desired reach.
President Donald Trump has angrily pushed back on the calls from industry and lawmakers for an AI slowdown or greater regulation.
The Pentagon's stance may accelerate AI innovation but risks entrenching dominant firms, potentially stifling new entrants and diversity.
CryptoBriefing•Editorial Team16 Sept
The Pentagon is reportedly requiring troops to meet waist-to-height requirements and exhibit “impeccable” grooming standards in order to attend Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “State of the Force” address later this month. The Wall Street Journal published a report Tuesday, quoting emails from the Pentagon to Army commanders, that said troops must have “impeccable grooming and…
The Hill•Mira Bhakta16 Sept
Photos sent to CBS News by active service members are revealing the extent of damage to U.S. bases in the Middle East targeted by Iranian strikes. The visuals come on the heels of a Pentagon report estimating the war has cost more than $33 billion. Jonah Kaplan reports.
The US admission that the Pentagon has weapons in orbit is a milestone in the militarisation of space. What comes next could tip the global strategic balance and set off a dangerous new arms race.
The Sydney Morning Herald•Casell Bryan-Low, Joey Roulette, Staff reporter16 Sept
The chief of space operations said the US would build its combat advantage to “outfight any adversary”.
The Sydney Morning Herald15 Sept
Damaging budget report estimates cost would grow $3bn per month and stockpile could take five years to rebuild The war in Iran has cost the US at least $38bn and left its stockpile of defensive missiles so depleted it could take five years to rebuild, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has found, in a damaging report less than two months before midterm elections where the war and the cost of living crisis will likely hurt Republicans at the polls. The economic report comes one day after the Pentagon’s inspector general finally released its own first review of the war, saying that the US spent $22.3bn on munitions alone through 30 June, put total spending at $33.4bn and found the fighting had “resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply”. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Joseph Gedeon and Andrew Roth in Washington15 Sept
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Tuesday launched an effort to impeach Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, citing the Pentagon’s military actions against Iran. Massie, a frequent critic of President Trump, accused Hegseth of launching an illegal war that was not approved by Congress. He introduced articles of impeachment on the House floor against Hegseth for…
The Hill•Filip Timotija15 Sept
The United States has launched a weapon into orbit that will be used to protect American troops, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed Monday. Speaking at the annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference at National Harbor, Md., Meink did not give details as to the type of weapon that is now in space or when…
The Hill•Ellen Mitchell15 Sept
Inspector general warns of ‘industrial base bottlenecks’ after military spent $22bn on ordnance in first four months of conflict
The Pentagon told Congress last month that the cost of the war against Iran has now climbed over $42 billion, a $4.5 billion increase on the most recent public estimate from the Department of Defense more than six months into the conflict. Defense officials provided the updated cost estimate on Aug. 13 to congressional defense…
The Hill•Filip Timotija15 Sept
The munitions shortfall highlights urgent defense production challenges, risking US military readiness and necessitating rapid industrial scaling.
CryptoBriefing•Editorial Team15 Sept
The inspector also found a bottleneck in resupply, despite President Donald Trump's claims that US supplies are "virtually limitless".
BBC15 SeptThe Pentagon inspector general also found that the US lost $3.7 billion in equipment during the war.
Operation Epic Fury has “resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls” of key munitions, Pentagon officials told investigators.
Breaking Defense•Aaron Mehta15 Sept