DefenseNews

Price tag for Epic Fury tops $11 billion in first six days, Pentagon tells Congress

Pentagon officials told senators in a classified briefing this week that the first six days of Operation Epic Fury cost American taxpayers an estimated $11.3 billion, according to a person familiar with the session. The figure, however, omitted a range of war-related expenses, indicating the overall total is likely to rise. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., in brief remarks to reporters on Wednesday…
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DefenseNews

Amid US military actions, White House struggles to explain how Iran war will end

Facing jittery global markets and drooping poll numbers since launching a war on Iran, President Donald Trump has cycled from calls for “unconditional surrender” to sounding amenable to an end state in which Iran trades one hard-line ayatollah for another. Shifting comments from the Republican president and his top aides are adding to the precariousness of the 12-day-old conflict, which is…
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DefenseNews

Iran to face ‘most intense day of strikes,’ Hegseth says

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that Tuesday “will be yet again our most intense day of strikes inside Iran: The most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes, intelligence more refined and better than ever.” Shortly before the statement shared at Tuesday’s press briefing, he said “the last 24 hours have seen Iran fire the lowest amount of missiles they have fired…
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DefenseNews

Australian submariners have a brush with Iran war

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — On March 4, when a U.S. Navy submarine torpedoed an enemy combatant for the first time since World War II, three Australian submariners were aboard. This was a contentious point for Canberra, as it is not a party to military actions against…
DefenseNews

Prewar US intel found intervention in Iran wasn’t likely to change leadership

A U.S. intelligence assessment completed shortly before the United States and Israel launched a war in Iran had determined that American military intervention was not likely to lead to regime change in the Islamic Republic, according to two people familiar with the finding. The National Intelligence Council’s assessment in February concluded that neither limited airstrikes nor a larger…
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