Flashpoints

The latest news from Air Force Times about global conflict, terrorism and U.S. military affairs

NATO set to renew vow on Ukraine membership, boost non-lethal aid

Foreign ministers will meet in Bucharest, where, 14 years ago, the alliance decided to allow Ukraine and Georgia to join over vehement Russian objections.

11 hours ago

US to send anti-drone machine guns, air defense ammunition to Ukraine

The Pentagon is seeking to give Ukraine what it needs to defend against Russian drones targeting the embattled country's energy infrastructure.

5 days ago

In this photo provided by South Korean Defense Ministry, a U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber, sixth from top left, South Korean Air Force F-35 fighter jets and US Air Force F-16 fighter jets, left, fly over South Korea Peninsula during a joint air drill in South Korea, Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022.

Flashpoints

North Korea’s Kim boasts new ICBM as US flies bombers

U.S. B-1B bombers took part in separate joint exercises Saturday with South Korean and Japanese warplanes in response to a North Korean ICBM launch.

Ammunition boxes lay outside a destroyed school on the outskirts of a recently liberated village outskirts of Kherson, in southern Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022.

‘Tyranny and turmoil’ in Russian invasion, US defense secretary says

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion the worst crisis in security since the end of the Second World War.

8 days ago

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korean missile in a military parade during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. South Korea says the missile North Korea launched Friday morning is likely an intercontinental ballistic missile.

North Korea fires suspected long-range missile

North Korea fired a suspected long-range missile designed to strike the mainland U.S. on Friday, its neighbors said.

11 days ago

Judges and lawyers view the reconstructed wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, at the Gilze-Rijen military Airbase, southern Netherlands, on May 26, 2021.

Three convicted in 2014 Malaysian jet crash in Ukraine

A Dutch court has convicted three men of murder for their role in shooting down a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet with a Russian surface-to-air missile.

11 days ago

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives a lecture at the Central Cadres Training School in North Korea on Oct. 17, 2022.

North Korea fires another ballistic missile toward sea

North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters on Thursday, South Korea’s military said.

12 days ago

Poland, NATO say missile strike wasn’t a Russian attack

Air defenses in neighboring Ukraine likely launched the Soviet-era projectile.

12 days ago

President Joe Biden talks talks to reporters after a meeting of G7 and NATO leaders in Bali, Indonesia, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022.

‘Unlikely’ missile that hit Poland fired from Russia, Biden says

President Joe Biden says it was “unlikely” that a missile that killed two in NATO-ally Poland was fired from Russia.

13 days ago

Pentagon looking into reports of Russian missile strike in Poland

More than 6,000 U.S. troops are deployed to Poland in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

13 days ago

Police officers gather outside a grain depot in Przewodow, eastern Poland, on Tuesday Nov. 15, 2022 where the Polish Foreign Ministry said that a Russian-made missile fell and killed two people.

Poland: Russian-made missile fell on our country, killing 2

A Russian missile barrage on the Ukrainian power grid sent the war spilling over into neighboring countries, hitting NATO member Poland.

13 days ago

President Joe Biden listens during a meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

US, Japan, South Korea vow unified response to North Korea threat

President Joe Biden said the three-way partnership is “even more important than it’s ever been” when North Korea is stepping up its provocations.

2 weeks ago