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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 Russian Soyuz 2.1b rocket carrying Meteor M satellite and additional 18 small satellites, lifts off from the launch pad at the new Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Yleem D.S. Poblete raises alarm on Russia’s satellites

A top State Department official warned Tuesday that Russian "space apparatus inspector" satellites are behaving unlike anything seen before, and that current international inspection protocol makes it virtually impossible to know whether they could actually be space weapons.

August 14, 2018
In this July 28, 2018, photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during the State Prize awards ceremony in Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, Pool) ** FILE **

Could Russian ‘inspector satellite’ actually be space weapon?

A top State Department official warned Tuesday that Russian "space apparatus inspector" satellites are behaving unlike anything seen before, and that current international inspection protocol makes it virtually impossible to know for sure whether they could actually be space-weapon prototypes.

August 14, 2018
Defense Secretary James Mattis' authority to set U.S. troop levels for Afghanistan and the fight against Islamic State could ease the bitter bureaucratic battles that divided the Obama White House and the Pentagon over war strategy. (Associated Press/File)

‘Space Force’ key to counter Russia, China threats, military insiders say

President Trump's call for a U.S. "Space Force" may have turned into a punchline on Twitter and late-night TV, but U.S. intelligence agencies, military insiders and security experts say the nation must take real, concrete action to prepare for conflicts in space or risk falling behind its global foes, chiefly Russia and China.

August 13, 2018
Vice President Mike Pence, speaking Thursday at the Pentagon, announced plans to create a U.S, Space Force to ensure American dominance in space amid heightened completion and threats from China and Russia. (Associated Press)

Pence, Pentagon promise ‘Space Force’ by 2020

The U.S. "Space Force" will become a reality by 2020, Vice President Mike Pence and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis promised Thursday, laying out an ambitious timeline to set up the first new branch of the armed forces in nearly 75 years and making the case that Americans must prepare for space threats from Russia, China, North Korea and other hostile actors.

August 9, 2018
President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with business leaders, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Donald Trump’s ‘Space Force’ meets resistance in Pentagon, insiders say

The Pentagon is moving ahead with President Trump's call to establish a "Space Force" as a potential sixth branch of the U.S. armed forces, with top officials scrambling to tamp down reports of disagreement between military leaders and the White House ahead of a high-profile speech Thursday by Vice President Mike Pence.

August 8, 2018
In this still from a video provided by Venezolana de Television, Presiden Nicolas Maduro, center, delivers his speech as his wife Cilia Flores winces and looks up after being startled by and explosion, in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2018. (Venezolana de Television via AP) ** FILE **

Nicolas Maduro drone assassination attempt raises copycat fears

The use of explosives-laden drones in an assassination attempt against Venezuela's president over the weekend has sent concern soaring among security officials over the growing threat that even consumer-level drones rigged with rudimentary bombs now pose to heads of state around the world.

August 6, 2018
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, charged with a host of crimes including murder, conspiracy and terrorism in connection with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, is in legal limbo as his defense team stalls for time. (Associated Press/File)

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s 9/11 trial date delayed indefinitely

Despite having been captured in 2003 and first charged more than a decade ago in the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has yet to receive a trial date. Defense Department officials overseeing the military commission proceedings can offer little in the way of a timeline.

August 5, 2018
A group of men identified by Nigerian police as Boko Haram extremist fighters and leaders are shown to the media, in Maiduguri, Nigeria, Wednesday, July 18, 2018. A Nigerian police official says authorities have arrested 22 Boko Haram extremist leaders and members who are responsible for the kidnappings in Chibok and more than 50 suicide bombings. (AP Photo/Jossy Ola) ** FILE **

U.S. military confirms it has armed drones in Niger

Months after an extremist attack killed four U.S. soldiers, the American military began arming drones in Niger in the latest example of how the use of lethal unmanned aircraft continues to extend across Africa and the Middle East.

July 30, 2018
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan a former cricket star, makes his first trip to the White House on Monday since his election 11 months ago. (Associated Press/File)

Questions hover over U.S. ties as Imran Khan prepares to take over

Pakistan's cricket star-turned-incoming prime minister said over the weekend he's ready to move the nation past its tumultuous election and form a coalition government — but deep questions remain about the controversial Imran Khan's seemingly pro-Taliban sympathies and whether he can be trusted to crack down on terrorists operating within his borders.

July 29, 2018
A TV screen shows a satellite image of North Korea's Sohae launch site, during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Kore, Tuesday, July 24, 2018. A U.S. research group says North Korea has started dismantling key facilities at its main satellite launch site in what appears to be a step toward fulfilling a commitment made by leader Kim Jong-un at his summit with President Donald Trump in June. The signs read: "North Korea begins dismantling satellite launch site." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

North Koreans dismantle ballistic missile test site

New satellite imagery suggests that President Trump's landmark summit last month with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has returned its first significant dividend, providing evidence that Pyongyang has begun to dismantle portions of a key missile test site.

July 24, 2018
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District Commander, Col. Rick Hansen, talks to media at the 17th Street Canal pumping station in New Orleans, Wednesday, May 20, 2015. With hurricane season approaching, the Corps is running through its plans and testing pumps and floodgates built around New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina struck 10 years ago to better protect this low-lying metropolis from flooding. Corps officials said they found a few minor problems during the testing and were fixing them. Otherwise, officials said the system is ready and in better shape than ever before. Hurricane season starts on June 1 and lasts until Nov. 30. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Army Corps of Engineers, environmentalists fights over Sandy rebuilding

Six years after Superstorm Sandy battered the Atlantic Coast, the Army Corps of Engineers this summer rolled out its plans to secure the New York shoreline -- and once again found itself in a bitter fight with environmentalists who say the blueprint is an ecological disaster waiting to happen.

July 24, 2018
Capt. Philip Gunn participates in a flyover during the interment ceremony of retired Brig. Gen. Robinson Risner on Jan. 23, 2014, at Arlington National Cemetery. (Image: Air Force) ** FILE **

Pentagon says it’s unaware of any U.S.-Russia military agreement in Syria

Top Pentagon officials said Thursday they've received "no direction" about military cooperation with the Russians in Syria, throwing cold water on reports that President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had reached a wide-ranging agreement during their Helsinki summit earlier this week.

July 19, 2018