The Pentagon wants to field laser weapons at scale within 3 years
Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on Laser Wars, a newsletter about military laser weapons and other futuristic defense technology. Subscribe here. For decades, the U.S. military’s dream of high-energy laser weapons has been perpetually “five years away.” Now, the Pentagon says it wants to...
VA awarded authority to appoint legal guardians for impaired veterans
An agreement between the Justice Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs allows the VA to put veterans under guardianship if they are unable to make their own health care decisions. A memorandum of understanding announced last week by the department gives VA attorneys the...
Sailors aboard USS Gerald R. Ford reportedly lost their beds amid fire
More than 600 service members and crew members aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford are without a bed after a fire aboard the ship Thursday, The New York Times reported. The fire took upwards of 30 hours to douse, according to the publication, and it...
European allies tell Trump ‘nein,’ ‘non’ and ‘no’ on help to force open Hormuz Strait
PARIS — European NATO allies pushed back against demands by U.S. President Donald Trump to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz by force, weeks after Iran shut down the majority of shipping through the critical trade artery in response to the American-Israeli war against the...
US carrier Ford to go to port temporarily after fire
WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) — The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, deployed in operations against Iran, is expected to temporarily pull into port after a fire on board, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, the 18th day of the war with Tehran. The carrier,...
TOPS Upswarm is a Bit Like a Karambit
Compact self-defense is the name of the game with the latest blade out of TOPS Knives’s Idaho Falls workshop. The Upswarm‘s unique blade shape actually emerged from a sharpening test. TOPS is a company well-known for tapping into the knifemaking talent of its entire team,...
US Navy taps Gecko Robotics to help remedy maintenance headaches
The U.S. Navy is taking steps toward remedying ongoing maintenance delays by enlisting the help of artificial intelligence and robotic systems, the service announced. The sea service reached an agreement with the Pittsburgh-based Gecko Robotics, the company confirmed Tuesday, to deploy tech capable of streamlining...
Iran war is not delaying US weapons shipments to Taiwan, officials say
WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) — The war on Iran has not delayed shipments of weapons to Taiwan or changed U.S. policy toward the island, officials from President Donald Trump’s administration told members of Congress on Tuesday, despite the demands of the intense air campaign. “Have...
Marines to host weeklong Harrier aircraft sundown celebration honoring its legacy
The U.S. Marine Corps is hosting celebrations to honor the Harrier aircraft and its service members as it reaches its end of service life. The Harrier Sundown celebration will “honor the legacy of the aircraft and the Marines who served with it,” according to a...
Patriot air defense interception is costly: Here’s how it works
As missile and drone attacks intensify across the Middle East, U.S. forces are leaning heavily on air defense systems like the Patriot missile battery to intercept incoming threats. The Patriot system is widely used to defend against incoming missiles and drones using radar and interceptor...
