Pentagon

With its armored doors and bulletproof windows, the burly Humvee has been a stalwart ground transport for the U.S. military. But now the Pentagon thinks the hulking vehicle should also be able to fly. On Tuesday, Pratt & Whitney's Rocketdyne division in Canoga Park announced that it had been awarded $1 million to design a propulsion system for a flying Humvee. Don't scoff ? there is good reason for an airborne truck, defense officials say. With the proliferation of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, on the ground, a hovering Humvee would be an ideal way to keep soldiers out of harm's way, Pentagon officials said in announcing the award.

The Pentagon is considering extending the deadline for bids to replace its aging fleet of aerial refueling tankers after Airbus-parent European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. said it may go after the $35-billion contract on its own. The possibility of another delay in awarding the contract adds a new dose of drama to the decade-long saga to replace the tankers, some of which are nearly 50 years old. The European firm, known as EADS, has...

SAN DIEGO - Gay military personnel can wear their uniforms in San Diego's LGBT Pride Festival and parade, the Pentagon said Thursday. An announcement from the office of the deputy assistant secretary of Defense said that wearing their uniforms is permitted "provided service members participate in their personal capacity and ensure the adherence to military service standards of appearance and wear of the military uniform. " The decision marks the first time that gay personnel will be allowed to wear their uniforms in a gay parade.

B-2 or not B-2, that is the question. GLENN SPENCER Sherman Oaks

The Pentagon notified Congress that it has approved the sale of Stinger air-defense missiles to Denmark. Assuming there are no congressional objections, the Pentagon said Tuesday that Denmark would be offered 336 Stinger firing systems and missiles, 504 extra "reload rounds," and associated spare parts and technical assistance for $65 million.

The Pentagon said Wednesday that more than half of the new synthetic helmets it bought to replace the "steel pot" headgear worn for decades by U.S. soldiers are improperly assembled and have soft spots on the top. The Defense Logistic Agency purchased 761,000 of the new high-technology helmets for the Army and Marine Corps, and 461,000 were found to be defective. But Pentagon officials said that no decision has been made on whether to recall the helmets.

However noble the U.S. campaign against terror, involving the Pentagon in TV's so-called "reality" shows is a terrible idea, a dangerous idea, an un-American idea. Yet it's happening. As this paper has reported, the Pentagon is now granting producers of these entertainment shows access to its war effort. Why would the Pentagon do this after imposing such strict limits on news organizations covering the war in Afghanistan before easing up in recent weeks? What better way to erase one of those demarcations essential for democracy--the line separating state and entertainment content--than to allow government to influence the course of prime-time series that are advertised to the public as unfiltered information?

Pentagon officials said Wednesday there is no evidence that a mysterious, spiraling vapor trail that was captured on video off the coast of Southern California was generated by anything but an aircraft. The unexplained projectile, spotted just before sunset Monday by a Los Angeles news helicopter, set off a wave of speculation and conspiracy theories about an unexplained missile that even the government didn't know about. The military, however, reported no rocket or missile launches, scheduled or accidental, at the time, and aviation officials said radar did not show any fast-moving, unidentified targets in the area.

The Pentagon spent more than $100 million in the last six months responding to and repairing damage from cyber attacks and other computer network problems, military leaders said Tuesday. Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, who heads U.S. Strategic Command, said the military was only beginning to track the costs, which are triggered by daily attacks against networks at the Pentagon and military bases around the country.

Mary Ann Gilleece, a top Pentagon procurement official who has been under fire for soliciting private business from defense contractors, has resigned effective Friday. The Defense Department announced Gilleece's departure as the Pentagon's inspector general, in a report released today, said she had violated conflict-of-interest rules. The department said Gilleece had submitted her resignation as deputy under secretary for acquisition management Aug.