Senate vote: OK $85 billion cuts, avert shutdown

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate approved legislation Wednesday to lock in $85 billion in widely decried spending cuts aimed at restraining soaring federal deficits — and to avoid a government shutdown just a week away.

Hagel confirmed as defense secretary

WASHINGTON — A deeply divided Senate voted on Tuesday to confirm Republican Chuck Hagel to be the nation’s next defense secretary, handing President Obama’s pick the top Pentagon job just days before billions of dollars in automatic, across-the-board budget cuts hit the military.

Fitz Blog: One nation's bold response to the meteorite threat

This past week we found ourselves attacked by an object from outer space. Central Russia was the victim of an unprovoked assault by an unknown assailant with a 10-ton meteor. We ask that this aggression be met with an equal response to demonstrate we , the people of earth, led by, we, the Un…

Pentagon extends some benefits to same-sex couples

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who is preparing to retire, extended benefits such as child care, commissary privileges and transportation to military bases to same-sex partners of service members.

Panetta opens combat roles to women

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is lifting its ban on women serving in combat, opening hundreds of thousands of front-line positions and potentially elite commando jobs after generations of limits on their service, defense officials said Wednesday.

US ramps up training of Mexican forces in drug war

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is stepping up aid for Mexico’s bloody drug war with a new U.S.-based special operations headquarters to teach Mexican security forces how to hunt drug cartels the same way special operations teams hunt al-Qaida, according to documents and interviews with multiple U…

Officials: US may leave no troops in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — Administration officials said publicly for the first time Tuesday that the U.S. might leave no American troops in Afghanistan after the end of combat in December 2014, an option that defies the view of Pentagon officials who say thousands of U.S. troops could be needed there to …

Tucson-based Raytheon unit wins contract for next-gen missile

Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems has been awarded a $65 million contract to continue development of the nation’s next-generation air-to-ground missile.

Soldier from Tucson killed in Afghanistan

A soldier from Tucson was killed Wednesday while serving in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said Friday.

Fixing a key missile

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Fixing a key missile

An F-22A Raptor fires an AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile at an aerial target drone. Problems with the rocket motors have plagued the air-to-air missile, which is made by Raytheon in Tucson and is considered the main air-superiority weapon for the Air Force, Navy and 35 allie…

Fixing a key missile

It is arguably one of the most important weapons in the arsenals of the U.S. and its allies, and it's made right here in Tucson

9/11 attacks play small role in election

WASHINGTON — For the first time in a decade, the Sept. 11 attacks and the wars that resulted are not the focus of the presidential campaign.

Davis-Monthan AFB welcomes new commander

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is set to receive a new commander this week.

Defense cuts could hit civilian workforce

WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of civilian employees in the Defense Department could receive warnings about potential layoffs four days before the November election if impending spending cuts aren’t averted, hitting presidential battleground states such as Virginia and Florida hard.

Raytheon's thin bomb hits moving target on first try

The Small Diameter Bomb II is fitted onto an F-15E at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. The bomb tracked and hit its target.

Raytheon's thin bomb hits moving target on first try

The Small Diameter Bomb II is 7 1/2 inches in diameter and 6 feet long. The initial cost is expected to top $200,000 each.

Raytheon's thin bomb hits moving target on first try

Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems has reached a major milestone in development of its Small Diameter Bomb II, successfully engaging and hitting a moving target vehicle during the guided bomb's first flight test at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.