NCC Harsh

As the Pentagon requests a massive budget increase to develop autonomous weapons, some senators worry that DoD policy isn’t keeping pace. DOD’s “policy architecture really has to scale with it,” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said Tuesday during a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities. “And this is where we probably lag behind.” During the hearing, which focused on scie...[Read More]

SHIMODA, Japan – Forward-deployed Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Howard (DDG 83) departed Shimoda after a port visit, May 17, following participation in the city’s Black Ship Festival.

During the Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing today, Acting Secretary of the Navy, Hung Cao, announced that the MQ-25A Stingray is now moving into the low-rate initial production and deployment phase. Boeing’s MQ-25A is the first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft and as the Stingray enters the force, it is intended to relieve the Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornets of their aerial refueling...[Read More]

The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) brought together acquisition professionals, defense leaders, researchers, industry representatives and more from across the defense community for the 23rd Annual Acquisition Research Symposium and Innovation Summit, “Accelerating Warfighting Capabilities,” held virtually May 6-7, 2026.

Following a successful first flight in April, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao announced today that the MQ-25A Stingray received Milestone C approval to move into Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP).

PARIS — Europe should “absolutely” expect additional United States troop withdrawals in the future as European NATO allies strengthen their capability to provide more of their own conventional defense, according to the U.S. general who is the alliance’s top military commander for the region. The redeployment of U.S. troops from Europe will be an ongoing process for several years, even if there’s n...[Read More]

For the past 10 days, naval aviators across six squadrons attached to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington and carried out the time-honored tradition of field carrier landing practice — on Iwo Jima. Since 1991, Iwo Jima, known today in Japan as Iwo To, has been the practice site of “touch-and-go” landings for pilots looking to hone their skills and for those seeking to be qualified for carri...[Read More]

The Navy Exchange Service Command Hospitality Group recognized its top hotels and team members on May 13, 2026, during its training symposium at Naval Air Station North Island, California.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday campaigned for a Republican congressional challenger endorsed by President Donald Trump in an extremely unusual move that broke with the military’s longstanding tradition of political neutrality. Taking the stage at a rally for Ed Gallrein, Hegseth railed against Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican who has publicly feuded with Trump and is facing Gallrein in a...[Read More]

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week said he would conduct a review on supporting a bill that would give veterans — predominantly from the U.S. Air Force — the same benefits civilians have been receiving for exposure to radiation at a Nevada test site that has seen more than 900 atomic bomb tests. At a May 12 hearing of the House Appropriations Committee, Hegseth thanked Rep. Susie Lee (D-Neva...[Read More]

There is no dearth of historic aircraft that helped to change the course of World War II — the B-17 Flying Fortress, the Vought F4U Corsair and the P-51 Mustang, to name a few. But scarcely any could be called heroic. In the case of the F4F Wildcat, usually outnumbered and almost always outclassed by its opponents, an exception can be made. Distinctive in that it was first designed as a biplane in...[Read More]