LLOYD AUSTIN

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is stressing the importance of communication between Washington's and Beijing's defense authorities.

China has responded to complaints from the United States about a Chinese fighter jet's dangerous interception of an American Air Force plane in international airspace over the South China Sea by demanding an end to such flights.

The U.S. military says a Chinese fighter jet flew aggressively close to a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, forcing the American pilot to fly through the turbulent wake.

Prospects for a renewed military dialogue between China and the U.S. remain dim, with Beijing saying their defense chiefs will not hold a bilateral meeting while both are attending a weekend security conference in Singapore.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he hopes that training for Ukrainian pilots on American-made F-16 fighter jets will begin in the coming weeks.

The Air Force fighter pilot about to be nominated as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff got his callsign by ejecting from a burning F-16 fighter jet high above the Florida Everglades and falling into the watery sludge below.

President Joe Biden will announce Thursday that he is tapping a history-making Air Force fighter pilot to serve as the nation’s next top military officer, according to a senior administration official.

President Joe Biden’s decision to allow allies to train Ukrainian forces on how to operate F-16 fighter jets — and eventually to provide the aircraft themselves — seemed like an abrupt change in position but was in fact one that came after months of internal debate and quiet talks with allies.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell says he won’t support a fellow GOP senator’s blockade of military nominees, backing Democrats and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who have said that the holdup is harming national security.

President Joe Biden is expected to announce Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. to serve as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Under a proposed rule change, foreign citizens and companies would need U.S. government approval to buy property within 100 miles of eight military bases.

The Pentagon has deployed forces and is developing options to assist in the possible evacuation of U.S. Embassy personnel from Sudan, but the White House said Friday there are no plans for now for a broader pullout of the potentially thousands of other Americans from the African country where warring factions are in a violent conflict.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the United States will begin training Ukrainian forces on how to use and maintain Abrams tanks in the coming weeks, as the U.S. continues to speed up its effort to get them on the battlefield as quickly as possible.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has sought to tamp down any discord between the U.S. and its allies over the massive U.S. leak of classified documents.

The age of the 21-year-old airman charged in one of the most significant U.S. intelligence leaks in recent memory has been the focus of a growing question: Why would the nation give someone so young access to some of its most important secrets.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says it’s important that Turkey decides to allow Sweden to join NATO “sooner versus later.”.

The Air Force says it is investigating how a lone airman could access and distribute possibly hundreds of highly classified documents, and in the meantime has taken away the intelligence mission from the base where the leaks took place.

Ukraine’s leaders say they don’t see a major U.S. intelligence leak as gravely damaging future offensives.

It's been less than a week since news of highly classified military documents on the Ukraine war surfaced, sending the Pentagon into full-speed damage control to assure allies and assess the scope of the leak.

The Pentagon says online leaks of scores of highly classified documents about the Ukraine war present a “very serious” risk to national security and senior leaders are quickly taking steps to mitigate the damage.

Five days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to fire his defense minister set off a wave of spontaneous protests and a general strike that threatened to paralyze the country, forcing the Israeli leader to suspend his divisive plan to overhaul the judicial system.

The top U.S. military officer says the Pentagon “has a long ways to go” to beef up its munitions stockpiles and ensure the country is ready for any large-scale war.

President Joe Biden says the U.S. will respond “forcefully” to protect its personnel after U.S. forces retaliated with airstrikes on sites in Syria used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

Pentagon leaders have told Congress that the U.S. military must be ready for possible confrontation with China.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles says his country made no promises to the United States that Australia would support its ally in any future conflict over Taiwan in exchange for American nuclear-powered submarines.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a number of improvements in access to mental health care to try to reduce suicides in the military.

The Biden administration has released video of a Russian fighter jet dumping fuel on a U.S. Air Force surveillance drone, as the U.S. sought to hold Russia responsible for the collision that led to the drone’s crash into the Black Sea without escalating already fraught tensions with the Kremlin.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley have spoken to their Russian counterparts about the destruction of a U.S. drone over the Black Sea after an encounter with Russian fighter jets.

Russia and the United States ratcheted up their confrontational rhetoric over a U.S. surveillance drone that encountered Russian warplanes and crashed near the Crimean Peninsula.

Reported sexual assaults at the U.S. military academies shot up during the 2021-22 school year.

Israel's prime minister has been airlifted to the country's main international airport for an official overseas trip after throngs of protesters prevented him from driving there as they demonstrated against his contentious plan to overhaul the judiciary.

Israeli police say a Palestinian gunman opened fire on a crowded street in central Tel Aviv, wounding three people before he was shot and killed.

The Pentagon says the first class of 635 Ukrainian fighters has finished a five-week advanced U.S. training course in Germany on sophisticated combat skills and armored vehicles that will be critical in the coming spring offensive against the Russians.

North Korea has threatened to take “unprecedently” strong action against its rivals over a series of military drills planned between South Korea and the United States.

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearing the one-year mark, Estonia’s military leaders are warning that if Vladimir Putin is not stopped now, he could entangle the region in a much larger conflict, perhaps one with even larger security implications for the U.S. Kristjan Mäe is the head of the Estonian Ministry of Defense’s NATO and EU department.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is playing down the importance of Finland and Sweden joining the world’s biggest security organization at the same time.

Ukraine has renewed its appeal to Western countries for fighter jets to help frustrate Moscow’s almost year-long invasion.

The White House is defending the shootdowns of three unidentified objects in as many days even as it acknowledges that officials had no indication the objects were intended for surveillance in the same manner as the high-altitude Chinese balloon that traversed American airspace earlier this month.

China has dismissed a U_S_ House of Representatives resolution condemning Beijing over a suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down above U_S_ waters as “purely political manipulation and hyping up.”.

When a giant Chinese balloon made an uninvited visit to the United States, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin turned to a hotline system set up with Beijing to defuse the situation.

A United States general has said that American forces and their allies in Asia are ready for battle after years of joint combat exercises.

The United States is rebuilding its military might in the Philippines more than 30 years after it closed its bases there.

The Navy has shifted to an all-underwater search for pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.

COVID-19 vaccinations are no longer required for military personnel.

The U.S. is expanding it military presence in Asia, in a string of moves aimed at countering Beijing and reassuring Indo-Pacific allies that America will stand with them against threats from China and North Korea.

The Philippines says it is allowing U.S. forces to broaden their footprint in that Southeast Asian nation.

North Korea says it’s prepared to counter U_S_ military moves with the “most overwhelming nuclear force” as it warned that the expansion of the United States’ combined military exercises with rival South Korea is pushing tensions to an “extreme red line.”.

The United States and the Philippines have announced plans to expand America's military presence in the Southeast Asian nation, with access to four more bases as they seek to deter China’s increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.

U.S. special operations forces have killed a senior Islamic State group official and 10 other terrorist operatives in remote northern Somalia.

President Joe Biden says the U.S. will send 31 M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine, reversing months of persistent arguments that the tanks were too difficult for Ukrainian troops to operate and maintain.

Western defense leaders meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany have failed to resolve divisions over possibly providing battle tanks and other military aid to Ukraine.

The top national security officials from the U.S. and Japan have unveiled plans to strengthen the alliance to help counter threats from North Korea and China.

The Pentagon has formally dropped its COVID-19 vaccination mandate, but a new memo signed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also gives commanders some discretion in how or whether to deploy troops who are not vaccinated.

Top national security officials from the United States and Japan are expected to agree to changes in the joint defense posture this week as the two nations confront rising threats from North Korea and increasing aggressiveness from China.

President Joe Biden has signed a nearly $858 billion defense spending bill into law despite his opposition to a Republican-backed provision in the legislation that repeals the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for U.S. troops.

A bill to rescind the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military and provide nearly $858 billion for national defense has passed the Senate and now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

A bill to rescind the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military has passed the House.

Congress’ move to eliminate the Pentagon mandate that all U.S. service members get the COVID-19 vaccine delivers a victory for lawmakers and troops who oppose getting the shot.

The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military would be rescinded under the annual defense bill heading for a vote this week in Congress.

China's Defense Ministry says the country strictly adheres to a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons “at any time and under any circumstances."

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is making clear he wants to keep the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place to protect the health of the troops, as Republican governors and lawmakers press to rescind it.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the U.S. is at a pivotal point with China and will need military strength to ensure that American values, not Beijing’s, set global norms in the 21st century.

The Biden administration is toughening its language toward NATO ally Turkey.

NATO member and Russia’s neighbor Estonia is boosting its defense capabilities by acquiring an advanced U.S. rocket artillery system.

U.S. forces have stopped joint military patrols in northern Syria to counter Islamic State extremists, as Turkish threats of a ground invasion stymie those missions with Kurdish forces.

The United States' newest nuclear stealth bomber has made its public debut after years of secret development.

A new Pentagon report warns that China continues to rapidly modernize its nuclear force and is on track to have 1,500 active warheads by 2035.

The top U.S. military officer says he tried to reach out to his Russian counterpart in the aftermath of the missile explosions in Poland, but wasn’t able to get through.

President Joe Biden will meet Monday with China's President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next week’s Group of 20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia.

The U.S. and South Korea are jointly warning North Korea that use of any kind of nuclear weapon against Seoul or other regional allies would result in the end of Kim Jong Un’s regime.

U.S. officials say the Pentagon is sending Ukraine a new $275 million package of weapons and other aid, in a move to bolster the effort to drive Russian forces out of key areas in the south as the winter closes in.

Weapons stockpile shortages across Europe could force hard choices as Ukraine’s allies balance their own needs at home with the needs of Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

The Pentagon will provide travel funds and support for troops and their dependents who seek abortions but are based in states where they are now illegal.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr_ has backed a decision by his predecessor to cancel a contract to buy 16 Russian military heavy-lift helicopters and says his administration has “secured an alternative supply from the United States.”.

US officials say the Biden administration will send Ukraine a new, $725 million package of military aid, adding to a flurry of assistance announcements from European allies this week.

Ukrainian leaders are pressing the U.S. and Western allies for air defense systems and longer-range weapons to keep up the momentum in their counteroffensive against Russia and fight back against Moscow’s intensified attacks.

Rising suicide rates among active service members have forced the Pentagon to review the military's mental health protocols.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is visiting Hawaii this week amid lingering community frustration and distrust after jet fuel from a military storage facility last year spilled into Pearl Harbor’s drinking water.

President Joe Biden has announced a new initiative that would eventually allow consumers to see a more complete price on airline tickets before they buy them.

The Pentagon has announced a number of new programs aimed at helping service members who are struggling with housing shortages and steep food and living expenses as they move from base to base.

The Biden administration is set to announce that it will send another roughly $600 million in military aid to Ukraine.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says President Joe Biden has approved additional military aid to Ukraine worth up to $675 million.

Coast Guard Academy officials and a lawyer for several cadets are disputing each other’s accounts of what happened to seven students who were forced to leave the Connecticut campus by Aug. 19, after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Authorities say in an arrest affidavit that the 22-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a Dutch soldier and wounding two others in downtown Indianapolis over the weekend told a friend who was with him that morning that he opened fire because he “just spazzed."

The Coast Guard Academy is disenrolling seven cadets for failing to comply with the military’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

Indianapolis police have arrested a man in connection with a shooting over the weekend that left one Dutch soldier dead and two wounded.

The Dutch defense minister has expressed concern about gun violence in the United States in the aftermath of a shooting in Indianapolis over the weekend that left one Dutch soldier dead and two wounded.

The Pentagon will set up a new center to help avoid civilian casualties in military operations around the world through better education and training and increased screening before strikes are launched.

The Pentagon has once again denied a request from the District of Columbia seeking National Guard assistance in dealing with thousands of migrants being bused to the city from Texas and Arizona.

Thousands of asylum seekers from across Latin America and the Caribbean are getting caught in the political battle over U.S. immigration policy after two Republican governors started sending busloads of migrants to New York City and Washington.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms and will quarantine at home.

The Chinese air force is sending fighter jets and bombers to Thailand for a joint exercise with the Thai military on Sunday.

Thousands of Brazilians are rallying in defense of the nation’s democracy.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. will conduct more military exercises with Baltic nations such as Latvia, and look to provide increased training.

Marine Gen. Michael Langley took over as the top U.S. commander for Africa Tuesday, heading U.S. military operations on a continent with some of the most active and dangerous insurgent groups and a relatively small Pentagon footprint.

The Marine Corps has its first African American four-star general.

The Pentagon has rejected a request from the District of Columbia seeking National Guard assistance for the thousands of migrants being bused to the city from two southern states.

Russia’s Supreme Court has declared Ukraine’s Azov Regiment a terrorist organization.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says the Chinese military has become significantly more aggressive and dangerous over the past five years.

The U.S. and allies are committing more rocket systems, ammunition and other military aid to Ukraine, as American defense leaders say they see the war to block Russian gains in the eastern Donbas region grinding on for some time.