Latest news with #DefenceDepartment
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
OpenAI snags $256 million contract with US Defence Department
OpenAI's pilot programme is aimed at helping the US Defence Department determine how it could use AI for tasks. FILE PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON – OpenAI has won a US$200 million (S$256.3 million) contract for a pilot programme aimed at helping the US Defence Department determine how it could use artificial intelligence for a range of administrative and security tasks. The one-year contract, which the Defence Department disclosed on June 16 , is the latest push by the ChatGPT-maker to sell its technology to the US government. In a blog post on June 16 , OpenAI said the contract is the company's first project under a new entity it's calling OpenAI for Government. As part of the effort, OpenAI will work with the Defence Department to come up with ways that AI can help with administrative tasks, such as getting health care for US military members and helping prevent cyberattacks. OpenAI for Government consolidates all of OpenAI's existing government projects in one area of the company, including ChatGPT Gov – a version of ChatGPT meant for government workers – as well as its work with Nasa, the National Institutes of Health, the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Treasury Department. The company also said late last year that it would partner with weapons maker Anduril Industries Inc. to build AI for anti-drone systems, in another sign of its expanding work with the US government, particularly around national security. In recent months, OpenAI has said that it plans to build out AI tools that uphold democratic values. The AI startup has also brought in a former top Pentagon official to lead its national security policy team and added the former head of the National Security Agency to its board. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
New Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
US carrier USS Nimitz heads for Middle East amid rising Iran-Israel hostilities
WASHINGTON: The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was leaving Southeast Asia on Monday after cancelling plans to dock in Vietnam, amid reports it is headed to the Middle East to boost the US presence as Israel and Iran do battle. At 13:45 GMT, the carrier was traveling through the Malacca Strait toward the Indian Ocean, according to Marine Traffic, a ship-tracking site. A Vietnamese government official confirmed to AFP that a planned reception aboard the USS Nimitz on June 20, as part of the ship's expected June 19-23 visit to Danang, had been cancelled. The official shared a letter from the US embassy announcing that the Defence Department was cancelling the event due to "an emergent operational requirement." The US Embassy in Hanoi declined to comment to AFP, as did a spokesman for the Nimitz. The movement of one of the world's largest warships came on day four of the escalating air war between Israel and Iran, with no end in sight despite international calls for de-escalation. Israel's strikes have so far killed at least 224 people, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, according to Iranian authorities. In retaliation, Iran said it had struck Israel with a salvo of missiles and warned of "effective, targeted and more devastating operations" to come. US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Monday said that Iran's missile barrage had lightly damaged a building used by the American embassy in Tel Aviv.--aFP
New Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- New Straits Times
US aircraft carrier rerouted from Vietnam to Middle East
WASHINGTON: The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was leaving Southeast Asia on Monday after cancelling plans to dock in Vietnam, amid reports it is headed to the Middle East to boost the US presence as Israel and Iran do battle. At 13:45 GMT, the carrier was traveling through the Malacca Strait toward the Indian Ocean, according to Marine Traffic, a ship-tracking site. A Vietnamese government official confirmed to AFP that a planned reception aboard the USS Nimitz on June 20, as part of the ship's expected June 19-23 visit to Danang, had been cancelled. The official shared a letter from the US embassy announcing that the Defence Department was cancelling the event due to "an emergent operational requirement." The US Embassy in Hanoi declined to comment to AFP, as did a spokesman for the Nimitz. The movement of one of the world's largest warships came on day four of the escalating air war between Israel and Iran, with no end in sight despite international calls for de-escalation. Israel's strikes have so far killed at least 224 people, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, according to Iranian authorities. In retaliation, Iran said it had struck Israel with a salvo of missiles and warned of "effective, targeted and more devastating operations" to come. US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Monday said that Iran's missile barrage had lightly damaged a building used by the American embassy in Tel Aviv.--aFP
AsiaOne
14-06-2025
- Business
- AsiaOne
White House reviews SpaceX contracts as Trump-Musk feud simmers, sources say, World News
WASHINGTON - The White House earlier this month directed the Defence Department and Nasa to gather details on billions of dollars in SpaceX contracts following the public blowout between President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, four people familiar with the order told Reuters. Sparking an ongoing review, the administration ordered the agencies to scrutinise Musk's contracts to ready possible retaliation against the businessman and his companies, these people said. As Reuters reported on Thursday (June 12), Pentagon officials are simultaneously considering whether to reduce the role that SpaceX, Musk's space and satellite company, may win in an ambitious new US missile defence system. Reuters couldn't determine whether the White House intends to cancel any of the approximately US$22 billion (S$28 billion) in federal contracts SpaceX now has. But the review shows the administration is following through on a threat by Trump during his spat with Musk last week to possibly terminate business and subsidies for Musk ventures. "We'll take a look at everything," the president said, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on June 6. In an email to Reuters, a White House spokesperson didn't answer questions about Musk's business, saying the "Trump administration is committed to a rigorous review process for all bids and contracts." In a separate statement, a spokesperson at Nasa said the agency "will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the president's objectives in space are met." Neither SpaceX nor officials at the Defence Department responded to requests for comment. The people familiar with the order said the contract scrutiny is intended to give the administration the ability to move fast if Trump decides to act against Musk, who until recently was a senior advisor to the president and the head of the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The review is "for political ammunition," one of the people said. Whether the US government could legally, or practically, cancel existing contracts is unclear. But the possibility underscores concerns among governance experts that politics and personal pique could improperly influence matters affecting government coffers, national security and the public interest. "There's an irony here that Musk's contracts could be under the same type of subjective political scrutiny that he and his DOGE team have put on thousands of other contracts," said Scott Amey, a contracting expert and general counsel at the Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog group based in Washington. "Any decision shouldn't be based on the egos of two men but on the best interests of the public and national security." Musk's SpaceX in recent years has become a crucial partner of the US government in much of its aerospace and defence work - launching satellites and other space cargo and potentially managing a crucial element of the "Golden Dome" missile shield planned by Trump. Although Musk in recent days has sought to walk back some of his critiques of the president - such as calling for Trump's impeachment last week and linking him to a convicted sex offender - his outbursts nonetheless highlighted the government's reliance on SpaceX. Before reversing course, Musk threatened to decommission the company's Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft, as part of a roughly US$5 billion contract with Nasa, is the only US vessel currently capable of carrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX is also building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a classified contract with the National Reconnaissance Office, a US intelligence agency. The contract was a pivotal transaction for SpaceX, deepening its ties with US defence and intelligence services. [[nid:719028]]
The Journal
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
US defence secretary suggests Pentagon has plans to invade Greenland and Panama
US DEFENCE SECRETARY Pete Hegseth appeared to acknowledge that the Pentagon has developed plans to take over Greenland and Panama by force, but refused to answer repeated questions on his use of Signal chats to discuss military operations during a hotly combative congressional hearing yesterday. Democratic members of the House Armed Services Committee repeatedly got into heated exchanges with Hegseth, with some of the toughest lines of questioning coming from military veterans as many demanded yes or no answers and he tried to avoid direct responses about his actions as Pentagon chief. In one back-and-forth, Hegseth did provide an eyebrow-raising answer when Representative Adam Smith asked whether the Pentagon has plans to take Greenland or Panama by force if necessary. 'Our job at the Defence Department is to have plans for any contingency,' Hegseth said several times. Guardian News / YouTube It is not unusual for the Pentagon to draw up contingency plans for conflicts that have not arisen, but his handling of the questions prompted a Republican lawmaker to step in a few minutes later. Representative Mike Turner asked: 'It is not your testimony today that there are plans at the Pentagon for taking by force or invading Greenland, correct?' As Hegseth started to repeat his answer about contingency plans, Turner added emphatically, 'I sure as hell hope that is not your testimony.' 'We look forward to working with Greenland to ensure that it is secured from any potential threats,' Hegseth responded. Time and again, officials pressed Hegseth to answer questions he has avoided for months, including during the two previous days of hearings on Capitol Hill. And frustration boiled over. 'You're an embarrassment to this country. You're unfit to lead,' Salud Carbajal snapped, the California Democrat's voice rising. 'You should just get the hell out.' President Donald Trump has said multiple times that he wants to take control of the strategic, mineral-rich island nation of Greenland, long a US ally. Advertisement Those remarks have been met with flat rejections from Greenland's leaders. 'Greenland is not for sale,' Jacob Isbosethsen, Greenland's representative to the US, said on Thursday at a forum in Washington sponsored by the Arctic Institute. In an effort not to show the Pentagon's hand on its routine effort to have plans for everything, Hegseth danced around the direct question from Smith, leading to the confusion. 'Speaking on behalf of the American people, I don't think the American people voted for President Trump because they were hoping we would invade Greenland,' Smith said. Hegseth's use of two Signal chats to discuss plans for US strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen with other US leaders as well as members of his family prompted dizzying exchanges with representatives. He was pressed multiple times over whether or not he shared classified information and if he should face accountability if he did. Hegseth argued that the classification markings of any information about those military operations could not be discussed. That became a quick trap, as Hegseth has asserted that nothing he posted — on strike times and munitions dropped in March — was classified. His questioner, Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and Marine veteran, jumped on the disparity. 'You can very well disclose whether or not it was classified,' Moulton said. 'What's not classified is that it was an incredible, successful mission,' Hegseth responded. A Pentagon watchdog report on his Signal use is expected soon. Moulton then asked Hegseth whether he would hold himself accountable if the inspector general finds that he placed classified information on Signal, a commercially available app. Hegseth would not directly say, only noting that he serves 'at the pleasure of the president'.
