The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) welcomed 104 new Marine recruits in July 2026, marking a historically high level of defense readiness. The RBDF ranks now number more than 2,000 for the first time since its founding nearly a half century ago. The July 17 graduation ceremony included 62 men and 42 women, clad in their dress whites, who executed complex drills on the Coral Harbour Base’s parade grounds. Deputy Prime Minister I. Chester Cooper, the guest of honor at the Passing Out Parade, praised the recruits’ tenacity during the 20-week training camp. “You have earned the privilege of serving…
The Watch
The Canadian government will invest $21 million in the next two years to set up a defense innovation center designed to accelerate the development, testing and integration of military drones and other uncrewed systems. Defence Minister David McGuinty announced the Uncrewed Systems Defence Innovation Secure Hub (UxS DISH) as part of the government’s Borealis production program. “Drones are changing the way modern militaries operate, and Canada must be ready to develop, test and adopt these technologies at speed,” McGuinty said in a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) news release on July 14, 2026. “This new Defence Innovation Secure Hub will bring government, Canadian industry, academia,…
Mexican National Guard units arrived in Ciudad Juarez in June 2026 to collaborate with the United States on surveillance and crime-prevention efforts along the Mexico-U.S. border. The specialized units conducted concurrent patrols, also known as “mirrored patrols,” with U.S. Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) units. The Mexican forces patrolled on their side of the border while CBP agents did the same on the U.S. side, reported KTSM, an El Paso television broadcaster. The June 18 patrols took place along the border between the Anapra-Sunland Park area to the Zaragoza International Bridge, the station reported. Since the beginning…
Australia has formalized a landmark agreement with Canada to provide state-of-the-art radar capabilities for the Arctic, strengthening continental defense and bolstering the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). In June 2026, the allies signed a pact that ensures delivery of an Arctic over-the-horizon-radar (A-OTHR) system to Canada. It is expected to be operational by December 2029. The cost of the $4.2 billion system, which includes related infrastructure and logistics, represents a major downpayment in Canada’s commitment to contribute to NORAD’s modernization. A-OTHR will give Canada long-surveillance capability to detect and track airborne threats approaching North America through the Arctic. The…
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) is taking the first tangible steps toward building a fleet of new warships, with plans to add up to 20 cutting-edge vessels at an estimated cost of $3.66 billion. The military told defense industry officials at an April 9, 2026, briefing in Ottawa that a request for information will be issued for the continental defense corvette. The corvettes will be designed as homeland defense warships that can patrol and protect Canadian waters, all the way up to the Arctic ice edge, the Ottawa Citizen reported. The program is expected to adhere strictly to a “made-in-Canada” strategy, with…
The navies of Mexico and the United States exchanged best practices and became better acquainted with one another’s naval assets during a subject matter expert exchange in the Pacific Ocean during a recent deployment of the U.S. Navy’s 4th Fleet on a mission to circumnavigate the Western Hemisphere. Sailors from the Mexican Navy’s (MARINA) Reformador-class frigate ARM Benito Juärez met with members of the visit, board, search and seizure team aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gridley in March 2026, according to a Facebook post from the U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) on April 10. The exchange, known as a…
An official visit to underscore a long history of security cooperation between The Bahamas and the United States took place on the USS Nimitz in June 2026. The aircraft carrier and flagship of Carrier Strike Group 11 hosted a delegation of senior Bahamian officials for a tour of the ship and discussions about the importance of the bilateral relationship. The visit provided “a firsthand look at the unmatched capabilities of a U.S. aircraft carrier operating at peak proficiency,” according to a U.S. Navy news release. Invited guests included The Bahamas’ National Security Minister Myles Laroda, Energy, Utilities and Aviation Minister…
Mexican federal authorities seized 24,400 liters of liquid methamphetamine in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, in June, the second-largest liquid meth seizure in Mexican history. An alleged member of the Sinaloa Cartel was arrested. In addition to the liquid methamphetamine, 98,640 liters and 59,425 kilograms of “chemical substances used for the manufacture of synthetic drugs” were confiscated during the operation June 19-20, 2026, a Ministry of National Defense (DEFENSA) news release said. DEFENSA said the economic impact on organized crime amounted to more than $500 million. One man was arrested during the raid on the property, which was reportedly an agricultural warehouse,…
Twelve NATO members have agreed to expand their security presence in the High North to counter adversarial actions by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Russia in the increasingly contested region. The pact emerged from the July 2026 NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye. Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom pledged to take greater maritime responsibility for deterrence in the North Atlantic, the Baltic Sea and the Arctic Ocean. The agreement also strengthens military ties and coordination between the European NATO members and Canada. “With this initiative, Europe and Canada are…
Mexican security forces arrested a regional leader of the Sinaloa Cartel along with a local law enforcement chief in the latest action against transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) in the government’s fight to disrupt their influence on the cartel’s home turf. The June 2026 operation resulted in the arrests of Misael Guerro Pérez, also known as “Güero Pink,” along with Hilario Javier, the former director of public security and municipal transit of Escuinapa, a town in southern Sinaloa State where the men were apprehended. Military intelligence gathered by the National Secretariat of Defense (DEFENSA) proved decisive in their capture, according to…