North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the world’s only binational command, tested United States and Canadian fighter readiness in harsh Arctic conditions during Operation Noble Defender at Pituffik Space Base in Greenland in early 2026. The recurring exercise reinforces NORAD’s readiness to detect, deter, and if necessary, defeat emerging threats while building on long-standing military cooperation between the two nations and the Kingdom of Denmark. NORAD personnel formed a binational Air Task Force (ATF) using aircraft from all three NORAD regions (Alaska, Canada and the continental United States) in support of Operation Noble Defender, which was held January 21-February 3,…
The Watch
United States border agents recently seized more than 41 kilograms of cocaine and $78,000 in cash at the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, blocking the drugs from crossing into the U.S. and the money from reaching transnational criminal organizations in Mexico. “By interdicting the flow of narcotics north and intercepting undeclared currency going south, our U.S. Customs and Border Protection [CBP] officers have disrupted both the supply chain and profits of the Mexican Drug Cartels,” Ysleta Port Director Arnoldo Gomez said in a news release. CBP officers assigned to the Mobile Enforcement Team were conducting southbound operations at the…
The United States has unveiled a sophisticated new counter cyberwarfare effort to keep the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating critical domestic infrastructure and secure vital digital networks. The Cybercom 2.0 Force Generation Model will train specialists to focus on discrete points of entry, including satellite communications and GPS systems, power grids and transportation networks, defense officials told a Congressional subcommittee in January 2026. “The Chinese have executed a deliberate campaign in order to compromise U.S. networks and then use native commands and native features inside those networks to move around to look like legitimate traffic. That makes it difficult…
Canada’s HMCS Yellowknife has begun a seven-week deployment in the Caribbean Sea as part of Operation Caribbe. The operation is Canada’s contribution to multinational efforts, led by the United States, to counter narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, and to bolster security in the region. The mission for the Yellowknife, a Kingston-class maritime coastal defense vessel, is to disrupt illicit trafficking at sea through boarding and interdiction operations while working with partner-nation vessels and maritime patrol aircraft. Crew members have honed their skills at exercises simulating real-world scenarios and emphasizing interoperability with nations in the region. Canada’s seizure of…
The United States Air Force has chosen the 319th Reconnaissance Wing (RW) at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, supported by the 184th Wing, Kansas Air National Guard, to oversee efforts to counter small unmanned aerial systems (C-sUAS) at U.S. military facilities, the service announced in January. “The Point Defense Battle Lab will serve as a hub for collaboration, pushing boundaries in C-sUAS capabilities” and expanding the Air Force’s ability to detect, track and neutralize airborne threats, a Grand Forks Air Force Base news release said. The Total Force team at the Battle Lab will support Air Combat Command’s Point…
The United States Navy’s Chief of Naval Operations recently outlined a new strategy to bolster force projection globally in an age where multiple threats across oceans have become an increasingly likely scenario. Adm. Daryl Caudle said the Hedge Strategy would focus on forward deployed assets and highlight uncrewed vessels and systems to counter low-probability, high-risk threats. “Hedge Strategy isn’t just a prescriptive effort, it’s an enduring approach to fielding a relevant fleet, across all domains, in an ever dynamic and increasingly challenging environment against the backdrop of unpredictable threat vectors,” he said at a January 2026 defense conference in Washington,…
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have accelerated plans to acquire 250 armored fighting vehicles (AFV) and upgrade their existing main battle tank, the Leopard 2, within the next five years. The plans were discussed at a defense industry gathering in the United Kingdom in January 2026, according to The War Zone, a United States military affairs news site. The purchases of armored assets will significantly bolster the CAF’s ability to defend North America from potential conflict, The War Zone reported. Canadian defense officials discussed their plans at Defense IQ’s International Armored Vehicles conference. The proposed timeline has been shifted from…
To support the Royal Canadian Navy’s new River-class destroyer and help bring it into service, the Department of National Defence (DND) is building a land-based test facility (LBTF) in Nova Scotia. “Having the right infrastructure in place to support a modern naval fleet is mission critical,” Defence Minister David J. McGuinty said in a DND news release. “This facility represents an important step in the River-class destroyer project.” Construction on the LBTF in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, began in November 2025, and its completion is expected in early 2028. The design progressed in tandem with that of the River-class destroyer because the complex required detailed…
A United States Coast Guard cutter seized 1,025 kilograms of cocaine and trained with naval forces from two key Latin American partners during a recent 45-day voyage. The cutter USCG Alert netted the narcotic haul during a Caribbean patrol before traveling through the Panama Canal and participating in a national security operation in the eastern Pacific Ocean. During the mission, the Alert made a port visit in Costa Rica and trained with Costa Rican and Panamanian naval forces. While at sea, crew members missed holiday celebrations back home but never wavered in their mission, their commander said. “I am immensely…
The commanding general of the Rhode Island National Guard visited The Bahamas in January 2026 to deepen ties with a long-standing partner, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF). Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Chevalier, Rhode Island’s adjutant general, met with RBDF Commodore Floyd Moxey at the RBDF’s Coral Harbour base where they discussed bolstering security cooperation and the State Partnership Program, a more than 30-year-old United States initiative to partner National Guard units with the military forces of allies and partners, according to an RBDF news release. “Both parties emphasized the importance of sustained dialogue and cooperation in addressing shared security…