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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang

bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com

Ben Wolfgang is a national security correspondent at The Washington Times, a senior member of its Threat Status team, and the host and producer of the award-winning Threat Status Podcast. Ben covers national security, foreign policy, military affairs, the defense industry and the rapidly evolving landscape of military technology.
A Pennsylvania native, he joined The Washington Times in 2011 after serving as a political reporter at The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, Pa. Over the course of his career, Ben has covered the White House, Congress, and four presidential campaigns.
His reporting has earned recognition from some of journalism's most respected organizations, including the Virginia Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists' Washington, D.C. Chapter, among other honors.
Ben has interviewed heads of state, chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, senior military commanders, cabinet secretaries, senior government officials, and the CEOs of many of the nation's largest and most influential defense companies.
Ben is a frequent guest on broadcast media, with appearances on C-SPAN, the Sirius XM POTUS channel, and other outlets.
He can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

A U.S. Marine assigned to Special Purpose Marine-Air Ground Task Force - Crisis Response - Central Command, operates a Battelle Drone Defender V2 during counter unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) training at the Baghdad Embassy Compound in Iraq, Oct. 9, 2020. The C-UAS training focused on the fundamentals of detecting and deterring threats posed by UAS operations. The SPMAGTF-CR-CC is a crisis response force, prepared to deploy a variety of capabilities across the region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Artur Shvartsberg)

Drones arms race under way as rivals deploy cheap UAVs

As "unmanned aerial vehicles" become exponentially faster, cheaper, more deadly and more widespread around the globe, U.S. military planners are racing to develop a viable defense for suddenly vulnerable troops, tanks and ships.

October 27, 2020
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Preble (DDG 88), USS Halsey (DDG 97) and USS Sampson (DDG 102) are underway behind the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Theodore Roosevelt and its carrier strike group are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations to reassure allies and partners and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Michael A. Colemanberry/Released) 180324-N-NK192-1337 Join the conversation: http://www.navy.mil/viewGallery.asp http://www.facebook.com/USNavy http://www.twitter.com/USNavy http://navylive.dodlive.mil http://pinterest.com

Navy destroyers to be equipped with hypersonic weapons, White House says

More than 60 U.S. Navy destroyers eventually will be outfitted with hypersonic weapons, White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said Wednesday as he laid out a massive logistical undertaking but one that the Pentagon believes is necessary for 21st-century warfare.

October 21, 2020
FILE - In this July 19, 2020, file photo, Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaks during a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart, Fouad Hussein during his visit to Baghdad, Iraq. China says Iran's foreign minister will visit the country from Friday, Oct. 9, 2020 to Saturday, a day after the Trump administration blacklisted virtually all of Iran’s financial sector in the latest step aimed at the oil-rich country’s economy. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, File)

U.N. arms embargo on Iran expires

An international arms embargo on Iran expired Sunday, marking a defeat for the Trump administration and opening the door for Tehran to potentially buy foreign weapons.

October 18, 2020
An M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank with 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, fires its 120 mm smoothbore cannon during a live-fire event as part of Exercise Eager Lion 2015 in Jordan, May 9, 2015. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Devin Nichols/Released)

Tanks future on battlefields in doubt due to drones, rockets

Specialists argue that the changing nature of war could limit tanks' effectiveness and mean a major demotion in how they are fielded in the face of more effective rocket fire, advanced radar systems that make it easier to spot and target the vehicles, and the proliferation of small, deadly drones that can rain destruction on armored columns.

October 14, 2020
In this Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014 photo released by the U.S. Air Force, a formation of U.S. Navy F-18E Super Hornets leaves after receiving fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker over northern Iraq as part of U.S. led coalition airstrikes on the Islamic State group and other targets in Syria. U.S.-led airstrikes targeted Syrian oil installations held by the militant Islamic State group overnight and early Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014, killing nearly 20 people as the militants released dozens of detainees in their de facto capital, fearing further raids, activists said. (AP Photo/U.S. Air Force, Staff Sgt. Shawn Nickel)

U.S. forces conduct ‘targeted strikes’ to slow Taliban advance

U.S. forces over the past two days have conducted "targeted strikes" to slow a Taliban advance on Afghanistan's Helmand Province, Pentagon officials said Monday in the latest sign that violence continues despite a peace deal struck earlier this year.

October 12, 2020
(Screengrab from video on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mod_russia/status/1313778179270737921?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet)

On Putin’s birthday, Russia tests new hypersonic weapon

The Russian military on Wednesday delivered a birthday present to President Vladimir Putin: a cutting-edge hypersonic missile that the Kremlin claims can travel at nine times the speed of sound and strike enemies more than 600 miles away.

October 7, 2020
In this photo taken from a footage released on Sept. 22, 2020 by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Paratroopers attend a military exercises at the Ashuluk military base in Southern Russia. Russian Air Defense systems successfully repelled aerial strike during joined military drills in the south of Russia. The drills, expected to be held in Black Sea and Caspian sea waters, will take place until September 26th. Belarus, Armenia, China, Pakistan and Myanmar take part in the exercises. (Vadim Grishankin/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Vladimir Putin funds Russia military modernization at record post-Cold War levels

Although a decade of heavy, targeted investment has put the Russian force on perhaps its strongest footing since the days of the Soviet Union, specialists argue that measuring it against the U.S. military in traditional terms is a waste of time and fundamentally misreads Russian President Vladimir Putin's 21st-century strategy.

October 6, 2020
In this Nov. 28, 2019, file photo, President Donald Trump, center, with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, behind him at right, addresses members of the military during a surprise Thanksgiving Day visit at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. During his election campaign four years ago, Trump vowed to bring all troops home from endless wars." In recent months, he's only increased the pressure, working to fulfill his campaign promise and get forces home before Election Day. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Trump fights for military vote despite early missteps

The Trump campaign is counting on an aggressive ground game to help win over active-duty troops and veterans during the home stretch of the White House race, but with little room for error, Republican insiders fear a series of missteps and miscalculations may swing the highly coveted and Republican-leaning demographic toward Democratic rival Joseph R. Biden.

September 24, 2020
An armed member of the militant group al-Shabaab attends a rally on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia, in this Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, photo. (AP Photo) **FILE**

Al-Shabab negotiations eyed as way to end Somalia fighting

Unprecedented diplomacy gave the Trump administration a path out of Afghanistan, and questions have been raised about whether a similar playbook could work for the seemingly endless U.S. military mission in Somalia.

September 22, 2020