The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) reached a historic milestone on Wednesday, April 15. After leaving Naval Station Norfolk on June 24, 2025, the carrier hit 295 days deployed, setting the longest post-Vietnam aircraft carrier deployment in modern U.S. Navy service, according to USNI News data. That means that by the time the Ford-class aircraft carrier comes into port in Norfolk, Virginia, it will have been on deployment for almost a year.
Author: Michael
It was a tough day for the UK Armed Forces side
The U.S. Air Force and Northrop Grumman this week released the first official image of the B-21 Raider conducting aerial refueling with a KC-135 Stratotanker – a major milestone that indicates the program is moving beyond early flight testing. Aerial refueling is an important test point, proving that the bomber can operate globally and sustain long-duration missions. Northrop itself described the milestone as extending the aircraft’s global reach and enabling longer, more efficient sorties.
Veterans’ advocates are pressing to allow judges and courts to consider a veteran’s military service when giving a “second look” to excessively long prison sentences. So-called second look reductions of long prison sentences are now allowed in federal courts and 25 states, but veterans groups say Congress needs to ensure that those reviews take military service into account.
For two days in a row, Army leaders have been questioned by lawmakers about why Gen. Randy George, the service’s former chief of staff, was forced to retire earlier this month.
CBS News first reported on April 2 that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had asked George to step down as the service’s top officer. A Defense Department official confirmed the CBS report to Task & Purpose.
When is an order illegal?
Australia has released its 2026 National Defence Strategy (NDS) and Integrated Investment Programme (IIP) today, 16 April.
When they still don’t know what equipment the
Estonia has opted to reallocate defence funding away from IFV procurement, with analysis indicating investment into counter-drone technology.
Boeing has secured a £879m ($1.1bn) Rotary Wing Enterprise (RWE) contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide long-term maintenance and support services for the UK’s Apache and Chinook helicopters.