The Tomahawk cruise missile has been in the U.S. military's inventory since the 1980s. While slow by missile standards, the cruise missile flies around 100 feet (about 30 meters) off the ground, making it harder to detect by defense systems. The missile also boasts an impressive range of around 1,000 miles and precision guidance systems that make it the go-to weapon for striking targets that are deep inland or in hostile territory. President Donald Trump has hinted that he might give Tomahawks to Ukraine, which could make a key difference for Kyiv in its war with Moscow. While the United States launched Tomahawk missiles almost exclusively from ships or submarines, Ukraine doesn't possess a Navy with ships capable of carrying the 20-foot-long missile.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced the USNS Harvey Milk will be renamed after a World War II sailor who received the Medal of Honor. The decision strips the ship of the name of a slain gay rights activist who served during the Korean War. Hegseth said Friday he's "taking the politics out of ship naming." The ship's new name will honor Navy Chief Petty Officer Oscar V. Peterson, who was awarded the highest military decoration posthumously for his actions during the 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea. The decision is the latest move by Hegseth to purge references to diversity, equity and inclusion. Harvey Milk was among the first openly gay candidates elected to public office.
A U.S. official says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is beefing up the Navy warship presence in the Middle East, ordering two aircraft carriers to be there next month as the U.S. increases strikes on Yemen-based Houthi rebels. It's the second time in six months the U.S. has kept two carrier strike groups in that region, up from one. The Norfolk, Virginia-based USS Harry S. Truman will be in the Middle East for at least an additional month. The USS Carl Vinson was in the Pacific and had been slated to head home to San Diego in three weeks but will head toward the Middle East.
The U.S. Navy has exonerated 256 Black sailors found to be unjustly punished in 1944 following a California port explosion that killed hundreds of service members and exposed racist double standards among the then-segregated ranks. At Port Chicago naval weapons station near San Francisco, 5,000 tons of munitions detonated, killing 320 personnel and injuring 390. Black sailors concerned for their safety refused to return to loading bombs without training on how to safely handle the munitions. The Navy punished them. Now, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro has signed paperwork saying the sailors were unjustly tried and convicted, clearing their names. Del Toro signed the paperwork Wednesday, the 80th anniversary of the disaster.
The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower may be one of the oldest aircraft carriers in the U.S. Navy, but it's still fighting — despite repeated false claims by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The Houthis and online accounts supporting them repeatedly have alleged they hit or even sank the carrier in the Red Sea. The carrier leads the U.S. response to the rebels' targeting of commercial vessels and warships in the crucial waterway — attacks that began as a show solidarity with Hamas in its war with Israel. The Eisenhower's captain is creatively striking back on social media to counter the misinformation as the Navy faces its most intense combat since World War II.
The U.S.-led campaign against Iran-backed Houthi rebels has turned into the most intense running sea battle the Navy has faced since World War II. That's what its leaders and experts tell The Associated Press, whose journalists visited U.S. ships off Yemen in recent days. The fight against the near-daily attacks by the Houthis has been overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war raging in Gaza. More than 50 vessels have been clearly targeted by the rebels. Other fire has endangered shipping through the vital Red Sea corridor. It appears the warfare likely only will intensify, putting the U.S. and allies more at risk.
Yemen's Houthi rebels have launched a boat-borne bomb attack against a commercial ship in the Red Sea, further escalating their campaign despite a U.S.-led campaign trying to protect the vital waterway. In a warning to shippers, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center described the vessel on Wednesday as being hit in its stern by a small white craft southwest of the Houthi-controlled port city of Hodeida. A Houthi military spokesman later claimed the attack. He described the attack as using a "drone boat," drones and ballistic missiles. The use of a boat loaded with explosives raises the specter of 2000's USS Cole attack, a suicide assault by al-Qaida that killed 17 sailors on board.
By REGINA GARCIA CANO, GISELA SALOMON and ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ Associated Press
A fleet of Russian warships have reached Cuban waters ahead of planned military exercises in the Caribbean. Some see their deployment as a projection of Russia's strength as tensions grow over Western support for Ukraine. The U.S. military expects the exercises will involve a handful of Russian ships and support vessels, which may also stop in Venezuela. Russia is a longtime ally of Venezuela and Cuba, and its warships and aircraft have periodically made forays into the Caribbean. But this mission comes less than two weeks after President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons to strike inside Russia to protect Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.
