U.S. Military

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Osprey accidents are often tied to its design. Pilots still want to fly it An AP investigation has found safety issues have spiked with the U.S. military's Osprey aircraft over the past five years, and even a minor mistake by a pilot can turn deadly. Read more.

Why this matters: The Pentagon bought the V-22 Osprey more than 30 years ago as a lethal hybrid, with the speed of an airplane and the maneuverability of a helicopter. Since then, 64 personnel have been killed and 93 injured in more than 21 major accidents.   The AP found that the top three most serious types of incidents rose 46% between 2019 and 2023, while overall safety issues jumped 18% in the same period before the fleet was grounded. Yet current and former Osprey pilots — even those who have lost friends in accidents or been in crashes themselves — are some of the aircraft’s greatest defenders.   Unlike other aircraft, the Osprey’s problems have not leveled off as the years passed. Instead they spiked — even as the number of hours flown have dropped. Many of those incidents can be directly tied to the aircraft’s design, experts said. Parts are wearing out faster than planned, and it’s so complex that a minor mistake by a pilot can turn deadly. While some aspects of the Osprey are now getting modified to make it more reliable, it’s unlikely the Osprey’s core design will change.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Air Force to deploy Osprey aircraft in weeks following review over deadly crash   Ospreys face flight restrictions through 2025 due to crashes, military tells Congress

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Stealth destroyer to be home for 1st hypersonic weapon on a US warship

The U.S. Navy is transforming a costly flub into a potent weapon with the first shipborne hypersonic weapon, which is being retrofitted aboard the first of its three stealthy destroyers.

https://apnews.com/article/navy-hypersonic-weapon-zumwalt-china-russia-ec3272a36042796518aec665a4e65df3?

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Judge upholds use of race in Naval Academy admissions, saying a diverse military is stronger

BALTIMORE (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ruled that the U.S. Naval Academy can continue considering race in its admissions process, finding that military cohesion and other national security factors mean the school should not be subjected to the same standards as civilian universities.

https://apnews.com/article/naval-academy-affirmative-action-trial-0a15c65f51031728a24b92379b1f542d?

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Military pauses Osprey flights again after recent near-crash

The U.S. military is again pausing Osprey aircraft flights following a near-crash last month.

https://www.axios.com/2024/12/09/pentagon-osprey-flights-pause-crash?

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U.S. Military Service Is the Strongest Predictor of Carrying Out Extremist Violence

The mass murder in New Orleans and Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas fit a troubling pattern among U.S. vets, research says.

https://theintercept.com/2025/01/02/military-veterans-extremism-attack-new-orleans-vegas/?

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Lawsuit alleges racial and gender discrimination led to an Air Force contractor’s death

NEW YORK (AP) — On the night Stephanie Cosme died, her sister and brother said they received a curt explanation from a U.S. Air Force official who met them at the hospital: The civilian contractor was failing to follow protocol when she was hit by an aircraft’s rotating propeller and killed.

https://apnews.com/article/gender-race-discrimination-air-force-hispanic-military-lawsuit-6482d1106fe83bf1582a4986ba9e690d?

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Federal officials identify the remains of a Wisconsin pilot lost over Vietnam in 1967

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Federal officials have identified the remains of a U.S. Air Force pilot from Wisconsin who went missing during the Vietnam War nearly 60 years ago.

https://apnews.com/article/missing-vietnam-war-pilot-identified-wisconsin-e41bb67b9cae11aa99a9fee4fd8790c2?

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Pilot safe after F-35 military jet suffers ‘significant damage’ in accident at Alaska base

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A U.S. Air Force pilot was reported to be safe after a single-seat F-35 fighter jet crashed Tuesday during a training exercise at a base in Alaska.

https://apnews.com/article/f35-air-force-jet-crashes-alaska-b85f19849361ddb3882cdc551f5d0f1d?

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Two Army soldiers killed during training at Georgia base

FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) — Two U.S. Army soldiers were killed during a nighttime training accident in Georgia, the military said Friday.

https://apnews.com/article/army-soldiers-killed-training-fort-stewart-c104e8ce4e78ac8c487f9522f1975ac3?

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US military conducts airstrikes against Islamic State operatives in Somalia

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has conducted airstrikes against Islamic State operatives in Somalia, the first attacks in the African nation during President Donald Trump’s second term.

https://apnews.com/article/somalia-islamic-state-trump-airstrikes-hegseth-africa-56c8ef314fd74812140153e7e3e4d809?

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Navy leaders "embrace the robots"

Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios

The unmanned obsession is very real inside the U.S. Navy, Axios Future of Defense author Colin Demarest writes. Why it matters: Look at Ukraine and the Black Sea beatings it hands out. Look at the Red Sea and Houthi persistence. Look at the Pentagon's budget, the online think pieces and where elite units are splurging. The future — mechanical, intelligent, overwhelming — is smacking us in the face. U.S. Navy Special Warfare Command boss Rear Adm. Milton Sands said at a conference in San Diego that the military must "embrace the robots," as "machine-on-machine fighting" rages and humans stick to safer margins. ? Zoom in: On the water, drone boats and robo-subs are augmenting the firepower of more traditional and more expensive ships. All these systems must work together, in sync with tech from other militaries and in places flooded with jamming and spoofing. Keep reading. ...

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US service member, 3 contractors killed in surveillance mission plane crash in southern Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — One U.S. service member and three defense contractors were killed Thursday when a plane contracted by the U.S. military crashed in a rice field in the southern Philippines, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said.

https://apnews.com/article/philippines-plane-crash-us-military-24ff90663ffec8033361d26fb9ac17db?

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Navy crew members eject from their jet before it crashes off the San Diego coast

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two crew members ejected from a Navy jet before it crashed Wednesday off the San Diego coast and were quickly rescued by a sportfishing boat, authorities said.

https://apnews.com/article/navy-jet-crash-san-diego-1e7cb3c13141abf50fc8859ff13ac7f2?

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CHART OF THE DAY

 

How the Iraq War turbocharged police militarization. (Source: Stephen Semler/Polygraph)

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In Lithuania, 3 US soldiers found dead in an armored vehicle. 1 is still missing.

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Three of the U.S. Army soldiers who went missing in Lithuania have been found dead in their armored vehicle that was pulled from a swampy area early Monday, according to U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command. Another soldier is still missing.

https://apnews.com/article/missing-us-soldiers-lithuania-armored-vehicle-pabrade-452f254b648ff36d3bc7b155ba705144?

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Last US soldier found dead after Lithuania training accident. 3 others identified

WASHINGTON (AP) — The final U.S. soldier who went missing in Lithuania has been found dead, bringing to an end a massive weeklong search for the four service members whose armored vehicle was pulled from a swampy training area, the U.S. military said Tuesday.

https://apnews.com/article/missing-us-soldiers-lithuania-armored-vehicle-830cffbaae6dc319b92955d7c6aea5dc?

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Female soldier becomes the first woman to compete in the grueling Army Ranger contest

A female Army Ranger for the first time competed in the annual Best Ranger Competition. Female soldiers were not allowed to be Army Rangers until 2015, when the Army opened Ranger school to women. Read More.

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Sex assault reports in the US military fell nearly 4% last year, AP learns Senior U.S. defense officials said that while the decline is a good sign, the number of reported assaults is still too high and the military needs to do more to get victims to report the often undisclosed crime. Read more.

Key points: It was the second year in a row with a decrease, reversing a troubling trend that has plagued the Defense Department for more than a decade. There were 8,195 reported sexual assaults in 2024 involving members of the military, compared with 8,515 in 2023, officials said on condition of anonymity because the report has not been publicly released.   The data shows that the overall decrease was due to a 13% drop in reported sexual assaults across the Army, which is the largest military service. All the other services saw increases. While reported assaults decreased, the number of sexual harassment complaints went from 2,980 in 2023 to 3,014 last year. Most were filed by female service members, and the vast majority of those accused were male.   The report reflects the first full year since new prosecution procedures have been in place, putting independent lawyers in charge of those decisions and sidelining commanders after years of pressure from Congress. The change, long resisted by Pentagon leaders, was finally forced by frustrated lawmakers who believed that too often commanders would fail to take victims’ complaints seriously or would try to protect alleged perpetrators in their units.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ The Pentagon’s DEI purge: Officials describe a scramble to remove and then restore online content   Black female WWII unit, ‘Six Triple Eight,’ receives congressional medal   US Supreme Court resolves pay fight in favor of federal workers who also are military reservists

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Navy jet

Another F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier has been lost in the Red Sea. The incident is under investigation, but two people told CNN that there was some kind of failure as the aircraft was trying to land on the carrier. The pilot and weapons systems officer were able to eject and suffered minor injuries. The jet crashed into the water and has not been recovered. This is the second F/A-18 costing more than $60 million that has recently been lost from the carrier. Last week, a jet fell overboard when the Truman made a hard turn to evade Houthi fire. One sailor sustained a minor injury in that incident, the Navy said.

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? Axios Explains: The 30,000-pound bomb

Data: Royal United Services Institute. Graphic: Kavya Beheraj/Axios The 30,000-pound bomb might be the most important weapon for Israel's war with Iran — and it's in the U.S. military's hands, Axios' Jason Lalljee writes. Why it matters: The U.S. alone possesses the world's most powerful non-nuclear bomb — and it's uniquely capable of targeting key Iranian facilities that Israel can't hit with its own weapons. The bomb in question is the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, also known as the "MOP." It's also known as the "bunker buster." And bunker-busting is exactly what Israel's aim is. Iran's Fordow facility is built into a mountain and hundreds of feet underground — the kind of fortress the MOP is designed to penetrate. Between the lines: Even the MOP would likely take two bombs hitting the exact same spot to destroy the facility, Robert Pape, a U.S. military historian, told the Financial Times. Go deeper.

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New Air Force policy denies transgender troops hearings before they’re discharged

The memo dated Tuesday says military separation boards cannot independently decide whether to keep or discharge transgender airmen and instead “must recommend separation of the member” if the airman has a diagnosis of gender dysphoria — when a person’s biological sex does not match up with their gender identity.

https://apnews.com/article/transgender-air-force-airmen-trump-discharge-dysphoria-fc4a09e585e584726da62b94b218f15d?

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US drone dilemma: Why the most advanced military in the world is playing catchup on the modern battlefield

The future of warfare felt a lot like playing a video game. Soldiers fastened on virtual-reality glasses and then moved their fingers across the joystick in their palms. A small drone buzzed and lifted in response.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/15/politics/drone-us-military-russia-ukraine?

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Anduril's hot streak

Anduril Industries headquarters in Costa Mesa, California. Photo: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images Defense tech upstart Anduril Industries, just eight years old, is scheming to build and fly robo-wingmen for the military, Axios Future of Defense author Colin Demarest writes. The company — based in Orange County, California — was founded by Palmer Luckey, who made billions selling his virtual reality startup to Facebook. ? Zoom in: In the past few weeks, Anduril publicized ... A $1.1 billion deal with Australia for a fleet of its Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous submarines. A $159 million prototyping arrangement for the U.S. Army's Soldier Borne Mission Command effort to build a night vision and mixed reality system. A contract for "conceptual designs" of U.S. Navy drone wingmen that would fly alongside fighter jets. The big picture: Anduril, with headquarters in Costa Mesa, is the 93rd-largest defense contractor in the world when ranked by defense revenue, according to the Defense News Top 100. Now it's muscling into competition with ever bigger players. It was valued at $30 billion+ in June.

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Retired 4-star Navy admiral sentenced to 6 years in prison for bribery plot

WASHINGTON (AP) — A retired four-star U.S. Navy admiral was sentenced on Tuesday to six years in prison for his conviction on corruption charges that he agreed to exchange a military contract for a lucrative postretirement job.

https://apnews.com/article/navy-robert-burke-bribery-conviction-next-jump-18471bdc39a78159677ba85556b338a6?

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Boat strikes

The US military carried out another round of deadly strikes targeting alleged drug trafficking boats — this time in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said US forces launched three strikes on Monday, hitting four boats and killing 14 people on board the vessels. It marked the first time multiple strikes were conducted on the same day as part of the Trump administration's accelerating campaign against alleged maritime drug smuggling. So far, the operations have destroyed 14 boats and killed 57 people, with three survivors.