Robert Burns

AP National Security Writer

This image taken with a slow shutter speed on Oct. 2, 2019, and provided by the U.S. Air Force shows an unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile test launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The Pentagon has raised to $95.8 billion the estimated cost of fielding a new fleet of land-based nuclear missiles to replace the Minuteman 3.

Pentagon Estimates Cost of New Nuclear Missiles at $95.8B

That's up about $10 billion from four years ago.

President Donald Trump waves during a summit on transforming mental health treatment to combat homelessness, violence, and substance abuse, at the he Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019, in Washington.

Space Force Will Start Small

It's the first new military service in more than 70 years.

Vice President Mike Pence, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, left, and national security adviser Robert O'Brien, speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House on Monday, Oct. 14 in Washington.

US to Restore 50% Steel Tariffs on Turkey

The tariffs are part of President Trump's announced sanctions aimed at restraining the Turk's assault against Kurdish fighters and civilians in Syria.

Pentagon Cancels Billion-Dollar Project

The Boeing contract was cancelled due to problems so significant "as to be either insurmountable or too costly to correct."

This photo provided by the U.S. Defense Department shows the launch of a conventionally configured ground-launched cruise missile on San Nicolas Island off the coast of California.

First Test of Previously Banned Missile

This type of missile was banned for more than 30 years by a treaty that both the U.S. and Russia abandoned this month.

In this Aug. 9, 2018 file photo, Vice President Mike Pence gestures during an event on the creation of a U. S. Space Force at the Pentagon. With his demand that the Pentagon create a new military service -- a Space Force to assure “American dominance in space” -- President Donald Trump has injected urgency into a long-meandering debate over the best way to protect U.S. interests in space, both military and commercial.

Space Force Grounded in Real Needs, But Hazy

President Trump says we need it, but what exactly is a Space Force?

In this July 30, 2018, file photo, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis attends a swearing in ceremony for Robert Wilkie as Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. President Donald Trump wants a Space Force, a new military service he says is needed to ensure American dominance in space. But the idea is falling flat at the Pentagon, where Mattis has said it would add burdensome bureaucracy and costs.

Pentagon Has Different Idea for 'Space Force'

Pentagon expected to call for creating a new military command, U.S. Space Command.

In this May 2, 2017, file photo, a U.S. missile defense system called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, is installed on a golf course in Seongju, South Korea.

Missile Defense Program Scores a Win

The oft-criticized missile defense program destroyed a mock warhead over the Pacific Ocean with an interceptor.

FILE - In this May 13, 2004 file photo, A-10's from the 111th Fighter Wing are seen in the foreground as a U.S. Navy C-130 takes off from N.A.S. J.R.B. Willow Grove in Willow Grove Pa. The Warthog is sitting pretty. Once on the brink of forced retirement, the A-10 attack plane with the ungainly shape and odd nickname has been given new life, spared by Air Force leaders who have reversed the Obama administration’s view of the plane as an unaffordable extra in what had been a time of tight budgets.

A-10 Attack Plane is Spared in Budget

Air Force leaders have reversed the Obama administration's view of the A-10 attack plane as an unaffordable extra in what had been a time of tight budgets.

FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2015 file photo, Pat Shanahan, senior vice president of Airplane Programs for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, speaks at Boeing Field in Seattle. The White House announced nominees for six senior Pentagon jobs on Thursday, March 16, 2017, including Shanahan for deputy secretary of defense, in its most significant step toward surrounding Defense Secretary Jim Mattis with Trump administration picks.

Boeing Exec Picked for Defense Dept.

Patrick Shanahan was central to getting the 787 Dreamliner on track after production problems in the program's early years.

In this Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016 file photo provided by U.S. Air Force, an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Like a giant pen stroke in the sky, an unarmed Minuteman 3 nuclear missile roared out of its underground bunker on the California coastline Friday, Feb. 26, 2016, and soared over the Pacific, inscribing the signature of American power amid growing worry about North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons capable of reaching U.S. soil. When it comes to deterring an attack by North Korea or other potential adversaries, the missile is the message.

Nuke Test: The Missile is the Message

If potential attackers believe U.S. nuclear missiles and bombs are ready for war at all times, then no adversary would dare start a nuclear fight.

Runaway Blimp Back in Business

After tearing free from its base, the blimp knocked out power for thousands of people.