The Insider

For decades, the defense trade media has been a trusted source of news and insight about Defense Department programs, budgets and strategy. Ethical, accurate and timely reporting makes that possible. The public, industry and indeed the department itself benefit from granting credentialed defense reporters access to unclassified areas in the Pentagon and from the trust engendered by that access.

The Pentagon has been seeking to impose unprecedented restrictions on journalists’ ability to cover the military for several months. Having restricted where unescorted media may go in the Pentagon -- such that even visiting the public affairs offices of the military services now requires an escort -- department leaders are asking reporters to sign a document acknowledging a vague new policy that, on its face, appears to contravene the First Amendment. This policy threatens to punish reporters who ask legitimate questions in the course of their daily work and to impose material harm on our news organizations for factual reporting.

Journalists from the undersigned defense trade publications will not sign this new policy. Our newsrooms will continue to cover topics of military, defense, and national security fairly and independently.

Breaking Defense

Aviation Week

Defense Daily

Defense One

Defense News

Inside Defense

Military Times

USNI

Defense & Aerospace Report

(Editor’s note: Tony Bertuca, the author of this piece, has been a credentialed member of the Pentagon press corps for 15 years and will be impacted by this new policy.)

Dozens of news outlets, including Inside Defense, are rejecting a new Pentagon policy they say bars journalists from seeking or obtaining information not explicitly provided by the Defense Department, resulting in the revocation of press access.

Statements of rejection from various media organizations began lighting up social media on Tuesday afternoon, hours before a Pentagon deadline requiring journalists to sign on to the new press access policy.

Fox News -- the former employer of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth -- along with ABC, CBS and NBC, released a joint statement on their decision.

“Today, we join virtually every other news organization in declining to agree to the Pentagon’s new requirements, which would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues,” they wrote. “The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections. We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press.”

A host of other media outlets have also refused to sign off on the new policy, which has been condemned by press advocacy organizations including the Committee to Protect Journalists, the National Press Club and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

At present, the conservative cable channel One America News Network appears to be the only outlet publicly saying it will honor the new policy.

Hegseth, speaking at the White House alongside President Trump, defended the new media regulations.

“It’s commonsense stuff, Mr. President,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure national security is respected, and we’re proud of the policy.”

Trump said he supported the policy.

“[I]t bothers me to have soldiers and, even, you know, high-ranking generals walking around with you guys on their sleeve asking -- because they can make a mistake, and a mistake can be tragic,” he told a reporter.

Hegseth, meanwhile, is under investigation by the Pentagon inspector general for his role in the potential leak of classified information related to the “Signalgate” controversy.

Hegseth responded Monday on X to several media statements with a waving hand emoji, misstating the extent of the new policy.

“Here is @DeptofWar press credentialing FOR DUMMIES,” he wrote. “Press no longer roams free. Press must wear visible badge. Credentialed press no longer permitted to solicit criminal acts. DONE.”

Tom Bowman, a Pentagon correspondent for NPR, wrote an opinion piece on the policy.

“Did I as a reporter solicit information? Of course. It's called journalism: finding out what's really going on behind the scenes and not accepting wholesale what any government or administration says,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon Press Association released a statement saying there “is no reason for the Pentagon to require reporters to sign a new document.”

“For decades, reporters seeking a badge to work inside the Pentagon simply signed a single-page form outlining certain access limits,” the PPA said. “The new 21-page document adds extensive legal claims, laying out unprecedented contentions about what is and is not acceptable newsgathering and gagging Defense Department employees, from the highest official to the lowest junior officer in the field, from providing information to a reporter without permission.”

While the PPA acknowledged the Pentagon “certainly has the right to make its own policies, within the constraints of the law,” the group said there is no need “to require reporters to affirm their understanding of vague, likely unconstitutional policies as a precondition to reporting from Pentagon facilities.”

Additionally, the PPA said the Pentagon’s required acknowledgement “demands reporters to express an ‘understanding’ that harm inevitably flows from the disclosure of unauthorized information, classified or not -- something everyone involved knows to be untrue.”

The Joint Air-to-Ground Missile successfully integrated with a cannister-based launcher, known as the JAGM Quad Launcher (JQL) during a ground-based demonstration at Yuma Proving Ground, AZ in late August, prime contractor Lockheed Martin announced today.

During the Aug. 28 demonstration, the JAGM was shot from a quad launcher positioned at a 45-degree angle and the shot directly hit a “stationary ground target,” according to Lockheed. The launch enabled data collection for the JAGM’s ignition, launch and flight, the company said in a news release.

Casey Walsh, Lockheed’s program management director of Multidomain Missile Systems, said in a statement that “this pivotal milestone showcases the versatility and adaptability of JAGM to provide a robust defense capability for multiple mission scenarios.”

“By driving progress in areas like vertical launch and counter-UAS capabilities with JAGM, we're helping to ensure that our users have the tools they need to stay innovative and ahead of emerging threats,” he said.

Walsh, speaking to reporters last week ahead of the Association of the United States Army Conference, said the Yuma demonstration shows that JAGM is moving into a role where it can be utilized in a “360-degree defense” capability.

The JAGM is expected to eventually be used in Navy surface vehicles against unmanned surface vehicles, and it was also recently used in a counter UAS demonstration by the Army when the missile was fired from an Apache helicopter, Walsh said.

“Primarily right now, these munitions can be used off of Apaches in attack battalions with the Army. This is a new market space for the JAGM in vertical launched missile defense,” he said.

Walsh added that the JAGM’s counter UAS capability using a dual mode seeker head has been demonstrated a few times. Lockheed plans to conduct more vertical launch live fire demonstrations, including one in November.

“This first demonstration, [with] a 45-degree shot, is paving the way for future software updates and adjustments to optimize our JAGM for a vertical launch scenario, and for those new targets that are big threats in our services right now in counter UAS,” he said.

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Senate hearing that considered the nomination of the next Air Force chief of staff, plus early coverage of next week's AUSA conference and more.

We start off with coverage of retired Air Force Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach's testimony to Capitol Hill regarding his nomination to be the service's top uniformed officer:

Wilsbach: Pentagon-level test and evaluation needs to 'support, not hinder' service efforts

The Pentagon's operational test and evaluation office should only play an advisory role to the services without having the power to mandate testing structures, said retired Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, President Trump's nominee for Air Force chief of staff.

Air Force readiness, maintenance accounts would take priority under Wilsbach

Solving staggering readiness and parts availability issues should be pushed to the forefront of the Air Force's program planning and budgeting activities, according to service chief of staff nominee and retired Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach.

Compass Call facing 10 months of 'risk,' CSAF nominee says

While anticipating the delivery of two more EA-37B Compass Call aircraft by the end of the year, the delivery of the next slate of the electronic warfare aircraft "is at risk by 10 months," according to retired Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, the Air Force chief of staff nominee.

Document: Wilsbach nomination hearing testimony

We also have a preview of next week's AUSA Conference:

Right to repair or not, Army already has the tools to fix its tactical vehicles, Mack Defense CEO says

While the Army wants more technical data access from manufacturers under its Common Tactical Truck (CTT) program, Mack Defense President and CEO David Hartzell says the service already has what it needs to maintain the tactical vehicles it has.

AM General bets on reimagined 105mm mobile artillery to win Pentagon interest at AUSA

AM General will arrive at next week's Association of the U.S. Army conference with a fresh pitch to the Pentagon: a reimagined version of its Hawkeye mobile artillery system that it says is lighter, faster and deadlier than before.

(Follow our AUSA coverage.)

Since the Army's transformation initiative was announced, the service has been zeroing in on Red River Army Depot as a facility that could potentially be repurposed through a public-private partnership:

Army moving forward on private-sector involvement for Red River with CSO

With a new solicitation issued today, the Army is signaling it plans to competitively procure "innovative commercial items, technologies and services" at Red River Army Depot, TX through a commercial solutions opening, or CSO.

Document: Army's RRAD 'innovative commercial items' solicitation

Document: SkyFoundry Act of 2025

Despite the ongoing federal shutdown, the Senate voted 77-20 tonight to pass the annual defense authorization bill, teeing the legislation up to be conferenced with the House.

The bill has been stalled on the floor for weeks but Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) announced a breakthrough on allowing votes for nearly 20 amendments.

Among the more noteworthy votes of the night was the voice-vote passage of an amendment authored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) that would repeal the 2002 Iraq War authorization for the use of military force, along with the 1991 Gulf War AUMF.

“The 1991 and 2002 AUMFs are obsolete," Kaine said in a statement. "Iraq is now a strategic partner, and leaving these AUMFs on the books runs the risk of potential misuse by presidents of both parties. Today’s vote is significant because Congress is finally reaffirming its solemn constitutional responsibility in decisions as important as whether or not we should send servicemembers into harm’s way."

Lawmakers, however, clashed over partisan stances on President Trump’s recent deployment of the military to U.S. cities.

Senators rejected by a party-line vote an amendment from Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) that would have limited armed forces' support to civilian law enforcement operations.

Lawmakers also rejected an amendment from Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) that would have blocked deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities if their presence is opposed by local officials.

Duckworth released a statement, however, saying she had received assurance from Wicker that the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on Trump’s deployments of the National Guard.

Meanwhile, a federal judge in Chicago on Thursday issued a ruling blocking Trump’s planned deployment of Guard troops in Illinois. A similar ruling has also blocked the deployment of Guards troops to Portland. The administration is appealing.

Senators also rejected an amendment from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that would have prohibited the use of federal funds to procure or modify foreign aircraft for presidential airlift. The amendment was related to Qatar’s controversial gift of a jet to President Trump to be used as Air Force one.

Conference negotiations are expected to soon begin with the House in the hopes of passing a final bill sometime in November.

When lawmakers form a conference committee, they will need to address their level of authorized defense spending as the Senate’s bill is more than $30 billion more than the House’s version.

Both bills also contain significant acquisition reform measures that enjoy bipartisan support and come as the Pentagon is preparing to advance its own procurement reform agenda.

President Trump's nominee to be the next Air Force chief of staff, recently retired Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, said today he would aim to follow congressional intent when doling out funds from the reconciliation bill but declined to fully commit to those guidelines.

“I will carry out funding in accordance with the law, and I will strive to do my best,” Wilsbach said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today to consider his nomination to be the Air Force’s top officer.

Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) asked Wilsbach if he would carry out congressional intent for the boost in funds, even though most of that money isn’t legally bound by Congress’ suggestions.

In July, the congressional defense committees sent guidance tables to the Pentagon to help inform how DOD will spend the $150 billion it was appropriated as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill.

The 12-page document covers numerous areas, including missile defense, shipbuilding, munitions, unmanned drones, industrial base support and more.

“That’s not an explicit answer, is it?” Wicker said in response to Wilsbach.

“No,” Wilsbach said, “but I definitely will follow the law.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Wilsbach will be reinstated as a general and replace Gen. David Allvin, who plans to retire near the beginning of November.