The United States and Finland have reached an agreement for the U.S. Coast Guard to acquire up to 11 icebreaker ships to bolster U.S. national security in the Arctic. “We’re buying the finest icebreakers in the world, and Finland is known for making them,” President Donald Trump said, sitting beside Finnish President Alexander Stubb in the Oval Office on October 9. Under the agreement, Finland will construct four arctic security cutters (ASC) at shipyards in Finland, and then the U.S. will use Finnish expertise to build up to seven more ASCs in U.S. shipyards. The memorandum of understanding lays the foundation for commercial agreements…
The Watch
In a major step toward fielding its next-generation long-range strike weapon, the United States Army successfully fired four Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) Increment 1 rounds at an array of targets in a simulated staging area 200 kilometers away. The missiles “met all objectives for range, trajectory, accuracy, and height of burst, with initial lethality assessments indicating nominal performance,” a U.S. Army news release said. The testing of the PrSM, a surface-to-surface deep-strike missile made by U.S. defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp., occurred September 26, 2025, at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The missile is designed to destroy enemy command posts,…
Vice Adm. Karl Thomas was nominated in October 2025 to lead the United States Fleet Forces Command, the Navy’s intelligence, information and war planning hub. Thomas, who also was recommended for promotion to four-star admiral, brings a deep knowledge of 21st-century technological advances in warfare and the importance of assessing information and acting on it quickly from a naval career that includes leading Naval Intelligence and commanding the 7th Fleet during a time of increasing tension with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The military affairs publication, Defense Scoop, reported Thomas’ nomination. His role in leading the U.S. Fleet Forces Command…
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, sailed into Norway’s Oslofjord on September 28, 2025, in a rare show of force by the United States and NATO during the alliance’s Neptune Strike 25-3 exercise. The visit came amid unexplained drone sightings near NATO military installations and airspace violations by Russian military planes in several alliance countries. “That’s something you don’t see every day! The world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, sailing in the Oslofjord,” NATO posted on the X social media platform September 28. Carrying over 75 combat-ready aircraft, the Ford is equipped with electromagnetic launch systems, dual-band radar and…
French authorities boarded an oil tanker off the coast of France and arrested senior crew members in September 2025. The ship is suspected to be part of Russia’s illicit shadow fleet and was known to be just off the coast of Denmark when drone incursions disrupted Danish airports last month, leading to media speculation that the ship’s crew may have been involved in the incident. French President Emmanuel Macron said at a European Union summit in Copenhagen on October 1 that the ship’s crew had committed “serious wrongdoings,” prompting France to stop the vessel as it rounded the country’s northwestern…
The United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the U.S. Coast Guard have been “naming and shaming” Chinese Communist Party (CCP) vessels near Alaska in recent months. The latest CCP ships in question appear to be research vessels operating from July through September in the extended continental shelf when Coast Guard vessels intercepted them. The CCP activity indicates a more aggressive posture in the U.S. Arctic region. U.S. forces closely monitored and tracked the ships, much like they would CCP planes in the Alaska Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) or CCP naval vessels in the area. USNORTHCOM and Coast Guard officials did…
The United States is rapidly replenishing ammunition stockpiles, boosting the domestic economy while preparing for future potential conflicts. The U.S government recently created the Munitions Acceleration Council, a body designed to coordinate increased production among domestic arms suppliers by up to four times the current rate. In June, the council met with industry executives to discuss ways to speed production, according to a September 2025 report in The Wall Street Journal. The council is focusing on 12 weapons systems that are seen as crucial in successfully waging future war efforts, including Patriot interceptors, Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles, the Standard Missile-6,…
The Peruvian Air Force, traditionally a buyer of Russian warplanes, has signaled it will purchase U.S.-made F-16s for its next generation of fighter jets. The reluctance of Peru, along with other Latin American countries, to buy Russian-made military hardware is the latest indication that sanctions and Russia’s inability to effectively rearm as the war in Ukraine drags on have weakened the traditional arms export giant. The U.S. State Department approved the sale of 14 of the Block 70/72 F-16s, Lockheed Martin’s newest model with advanced avionics and weapons capability, to Peru in September 2025. Peru requested 12 single-seat models and…
The European Union (EU) plans to ban the import of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year earlier than planned, EU officials said in announcing another package of sanctions against Moscow for its war against Ukraine. “It is time to turn off the tap,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “Russia’s war economy is sustained by revenues from fossil fuels. We want to cut these revenues,” von der Leyen said September 19, 2025, as she announced the proposal, which requires unanimous approval from EU governments. “So we are banning imports of Russian LNG into European markets.” European Commission Vice President and foreign policy…
Denmark denounced Russian aggression, and NATO allies quickly responded after repeated unmanned aerial systems (UAS) incursions into Danish territory closed the country’s airports and disrupted commercial activity in September 2025. The drone activity drew sharp condemnation from NATO leaders as the incidents occurred soon after Denmark announced it was making a large purchase of long-range precision weapons. Denmark’s government leaders, although lacking definitive proof, said they strongly believe Russia is behind the “hybrid attacks,” a pattern that has been repeated in other Nordic and Baltic countries since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions and international isolation experienced…