The Watch

U.S. Marines will be trained to use first-person view attack drones to destroy enemy targets up to 20 kilometers away. U.S. MARINE CORPS THE WATCH STAFF The U.S. Marine Corps is outfitting an attack drone team to roll out first-person view (FPV) small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) in battlefield scenarios. The development comes as the U.S. adapts its tactics and technology to meet the challenges of 21st-century warfare. The Marines announced that the team would participate in training ground-level units in how to operate FPVs to destroy enemy targets up to 20 kilometers away, according to Task & Purpose, a…

U.K. Defense attaché Rear Adm. Tim Woods, center, with Royal Bermuda Regiment troops during a March 2025 visit to the British Overseas Territory. ROYAL BERMUDA REGIMENT THE WATCH STAFF A British admiral, serving as the United Kingdom’s defense attaché in the United States, visited Bermuda to discuss ways in which the U.K. can strengthen its relationship with the British Overseas Territory (BOT), especially in logistical support and training opportunities. U.K. Rear Adm. Tim Woods and his staff visited the Royal Bermuda Regiment (RBR) headquarters at Warwick Camp and the RBR Coast Guard base at Scenic House, Sandys in March 2025,…

An aerial view shows a storage facility owned by Lukoil Oil Co. at the Arctic port of Varandey. REUTERS REUTERS Russia’s Arctic oil exports to China rose sharply in April, buoyed by a jump in ship-to-ship transfers at sea to ensure tankers pulling into port are not on U.S. sanctions lists, according to traders and data from the oil analytics firm Vortexa. The Arctic oil business accounts for 10% of Russia’s seaborne oil exports, which were hit with widened U.S. sanctions in January 2025 on nearly all tankers carrying crude oil grades such as ARCO and Novy Port and on…

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, left, and Liberal Leader Mark Carney shake hands as they talk after the English-language federal leaders’ debate in Montreal, Canada, on April 17, 2025. REUTERS REUTERS Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said that China is one of the largest threats with respect to foreign interference in Canada and is an emerging threat in the Arctic. In a debate April 17 ahead of the April 28 election, Carney replied “China,” when asked to name Canada’s biggest security threat. Asked to elaborate at a news conference in Niagara Falls, Canada on April 18, Carney said Canada has to…

The U.S. Navy christened the USS Iowa at a ceremony in Groton, Connecticut. U.S. NAVY THE WATCH STAFF The United States christened its 24th Virginia-class nuclear powered fast-attack submarine in April 2025 at a ceremony at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut. The USS Iowa embarked for sea patrols after a ceremony attended by top naval officials and Iowa’s former first lady. The submarine, which has been under construction and at sea trials since 2019, is 115 meters long and can operate faster than 25 knots. It has a crew of 135 and can dive to more than…

DIÁLOGO AMERICAS ILLUSTRATION DIÁLOGO AMERICAS Trinidad and Tobago kicked off the new year under a state of emergency, following an alarming rise in violence and retaliatory gang killings. “The gangs in Trinidad and Tobago are growing and competing with each other for control of illicit businesses, territory, access, routes and control of illicit goods,” Guillermo Holzmann, defense analyst and academic at the University of Valparaíso, Chile, told Diálogo, a publication of U.S. Southern Command. “With the increased number of gangs, there is a rise in corruption. With greater corruption comes increased institutional weakness. All of this generates more space for the…

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping shake hands during the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in November 2024. REUTERS DR. R. EVAN ELLIS/U.S. ARMY WAR COLLEGE Investment and activities by Chinese companies in Mexico always have been more significant than generally realized. Between 2001 and 2023, the China-Latin America Network of Mexico’s prestigious National Autonomous University identified $20.8 billion in Chinese Communist Party (CCP) investment across 150 projects. That presence, and associated influence, likely will expand significantly in the coming years since China-based companies are well…

U.S. Marines scan for simulated threats from the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer during a drill in the Pacific Ocean in July 2024. SGT. AMELIA KANG/U.S. MARINE CORPS THE WATCH STAFF As the surge of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) in battle poses a deadly challenge for modern military forces, the U.S. Marine Corps has announced it will equip deploying units with handheld prototype systems designed to counter the drones. “Unmanned aerial systems are a threat not just to infantry Marines, but to all Marines,” said Lt. Gen. Eric Austin, deputy commandant for combat development and integration. Starting this summer,…

USNORTHCOM and NORAD Commander Gregory Guillot cautioned against the sale of the “Goldilocks” portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, saying it could imperil North American missile defense. AFP/GETTY IMAGES THE WATCH STAFF The commander of the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) urged federal lawmakers in April 2025 to resist pressure to auction off a crucial segment of the electromagnetic spectrum. Gen. Gregory Guillot told the House Armed Services Committee that opening the sweet spot of radio frequencies known as the “Goldilocks” part of the spectrum to commercial users would endanger North American missile…

Minister of Security and Citizen Protection Omar García Harfuch speaks during a presentation of incoming President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Cabinet members in Mexico City on July 4, 2024. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Six years ago, Mexico’s president disbanded the country’s Federal Police and handed security responsibilities fully to the military. Now, his successor has quietly begun to build an elite civilian investigative and special operations force to fight the drug cartels. President Claudia Sheinbaum had already shown a willingness early in her presidency to move away from former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s often-criticized “hugs, not bullets” strategy. It focused on addressing…