The administration is betting another $62 million that biofuels can power the Navy, but lawmakers call the energy programs wasteful.

Philippines President Benigno Aquino could ask the United States to deploy spy planes to monitor the South China Sea, which could escalate tensions between the United States and China.

Aquino, in an interview with Reuters Monday, said that he might ask for the U.S. spy planes because the Philippines does not have the technological capabilities.

The South China Sea has long been disputed territory and a sore spot in relations with China.

Islamabad is claiming units of the Afghan National Army are carrying out attacks against targets inside Pakistan, sparking a number of cross-border clashes that could end up deepening the growing rifts between Washington, Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

Iran has launched a three-day war games exercise, during which missiles will be fired at targets modeled after foreign bases.

An Air Force C-130 cargo plane flying a firefighting mission in South Dakota crashed late Sunday night, as military and civilian authorities continue to battle the wildfires burning their way across the western United States. 

Senate Republicans are floating the idea to get lawmakers on the same page, regarding automatic defense cuts.

The conflict features issues Republicans tend to be fond of — cutting spending, the military and NASCAR — against one another. 

The Pentagon does not see Turkey's recent military buildup along its border with Syria as a precursor to war between the neighboring countries, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Friday. 

Military leaders in Tehran have begun to outfit Iranian warships patrolling the Straits of Hormuz with short-range missiles, a sign that tensions along the highly-contested waterway could be coming to a head once again.