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Pentagon asks Congress to codify ‘Department of War,’ estimates $52 million cost
Only Congress has the authority to permanently rename executive department names, and it has not yet changed the title of the Department of Defense.
Utility shutoffs, mounting debt — Coast Guard endures hardships in ongoing shutdown
Coast Guard members and civilian employees are wondering whether they will get paid as the partial government shutdown continues.
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US Navy’s unmanned MQ-25A Stingray notches first successful test flight
The U.S. Navy and Boeing conducted the Stingray's first test flight on Saturday, showing its ability to taxi, take off, fly and land autonomously.
US Navy commissions newest Virginia-class submarine USS Idaho
The Navy welcomed the 26th Virginia-class fast-attack submarine to active service during a Saturday ceremony in Connecticut.
US sailor deploying to Middle East injured in monkey attack in Thailand
The sailor was transferred back to Japan for medical care, a Navy spokesperson said.
3 sailors injured after fire breaks out aboard USS Zumwalt
A fire broke out aboard the guided-missile destroyer as it was stationed pierside at a Mississippi shipyard.
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Pentagon & Congress
Pentagon’s FY27 budget seeks 85 F-35s, but most ride on reconciliation
The Pentagon’s fiscal 2027 budget request seeks 85 F-35 Lightning II fighters across the joint force, up from 47 in fiscal 2026.
What we know about the US military’s new joint laser weapon system
The Army-Navy effort aims to produce a containerized 150-kilowatt high-energy laser weapon to counter incoming cruise missiles.
Why aircraft carriers are the best (and worst) place for laser weapons
High-energy laser weapons are a natural fit for large, power-rich aircraft carriers — with limits.
Vietnam veteran, daughter sue VA over Agent Orange birth defect benefits
The VA provides disability compensation for birth defects to the children of women Vietnam veterans, but not to the children of men who served in the war.
In other news
Remains of USS Arizona crew buried as unknowns after Pearl Harbor to be identified
While the advocacy group Operation 85 met the 60% DNA threshold last November, the DPAA has finally confirmed its effort.
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The Navy absorbs lessons from Epic Fury | Defense News Weekly Full Episode 4.28.26
At the Navy League of the United States’ recent conference, Navy leaders digest lessons from the U.S. campaign in the Middle East and look to the future.
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Sailor reportedly finds dead rat in finished energy drink
The sailor said medical personnel informed him, “with the chemicals that are in Monster, that it should be OK.”
That time the Air Force proposed making a ‘gay bomb’
The Air Force once explored the idea of a chemical weapon that would make enemy soldiers sexually irresistible to one another — striking a blow to morale.
Master Chief actor condemns use of character in White House’s Iran war hype video
“I demand that the producers of this disgusting and juvenile war porn remove my voice immediately,” Steve Downes wrote in a post on X.
‘War Machine’ review: Finally, a training scenario with aliens
The sci-fi flick raises the premise: What if the final phase of U.S. Army Ranger selection suddenly involved fighting a giant alien robot?
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MORE STORIES
US sailor deploying to Middle East injured in monkey attack in Thailand
The sailor was transferred back to Japan for medical care, a Navy spokesperson said.
3 sailors injured after fire breaks out aboard USS Zumwalt
A fire broke out aboard the guided-missile destroyer as it was stationed pierside at a Mississippi shipyard.
The US military wants a fleet of missile-killing laser drones
The U.S. military is once again pursuing flying directed energy weapons to counter threats to American airspace.
By Jared Keller
Three’s company: Trio of US carriers operating in Middle East for first time in decades
Three U.S. aircraft carriers are operating in Central Command's area of responsibility for the first time since 2003.
By Eve Sampson
US Navy is reviewing cost of future Ford-class carriers to ensure they ‘make sense’
The service is looking at how superior Ford-class carriers are to Nimitz-class carriers, said the recently ousted Navy Secretary John Phelan.
By Riley Ceder
US Marine Corps, Navy join forces to combat insufficient amphibious fleet size
The two services will work together to boost the country's amphibious fleet size and availability after the readiness rate of its ships dropped in 2025.
Used as an ‘individual target’ by the Germans, this Medal of Honor recipient kept up the fight
Although mortally wounded, Robert Booker “remained retrained and unfazed as he continued to encourage his squad and helped direct their fire.”
By Jon Guttman
Push to identify remains of POWS who endured Bataan Death March, hell ships
Since 2014 the DPAA has been working to identify, recover and repatriate the remains of POWs who died in the prison camps or aboard Japanese hell ships.
By Richard Sisk