Tag: U.S. Military

By Courtney Albon | Air Force Times The Air Force estimates it would cost about $4.5 million to restore nuclear weapon capabilities on approximately 30 B-52 bombers, a calculation that follows proposals from Congress to assess shoring up the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal in the coming years. The House and Senate armed services committees included the recommendation in their respective defense policy bills for fiscal 2025. The bombers in question had previously been equipped with the ability to carry nuclear weapons but were converted to conventional aircraft about 10 years ago to comply with a key U.S.-Russia arms control treaty known as New START. That agreement, which sets limits on both countries’ nuclear arms capabilities, is set to expire in 2026. Proponents of the recommendat...

By Noah Robertson | Air Force Times America’s odds of fighting a major war are the highest in 80 years, and its military isn’t prepared for one. This was the finding of a bipartisan panel tasked by Congress to review U.S. defense strategy. Its nearly 100-page report reveals a crisis of confidence in American national security. The commission chides a Pentagon it considers too plodding, a Congress it considers too partisan and multiple administrations it says have been too complacent to address threats from China, Russia and countries in the Middle East. READ THE FULL STORY AT AIR FORCE TIMES

By Nikki Wentling | Air Force Times Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed the Pentagon to review the 20 Medals of Honor awarded to U.S. troops for their actions at Wounded Knee in 1890, when soldiers killed and injured between 350 and 375 Lakota men, women and children. Austin ordered the creation of a special panel to determine whether to retain or rescind the medals, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday. In a July 19 memorandum ordering the review, Austin said the panel would investigate “each awardee’s individual actions” and also “consider the context of the overall engagement.” “It’s never too late to do what’s right,” an unnamed senior defense official said in a statement Wednesday. “And that’s what is intended by the review that the secretary direc...

By Fatima Hussein | The Associated Press (via Air Force Times) The U.S. wants to expand a Treasury committee’s jurisdiction to review land sales near U.S. military sites where foreigners are the buyers. New Treasury rulemaking would expand the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ powers to review land sales near 56 additional military sites, bringing the overall number to 227 military sites. Additional sites include Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow in California, Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, and Fort Novosel in Alabama, along with other locations, according to the proposed rule. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE AIR FORCE TIMES