The Eagle S oil tanker anchors near the Kilpilahti port in Porvoo, on the Gulf of Finland, on January 2, 2025. The Cook Islands-registered ship is suspected of the disruption of the Finland-Estonia electrical link Estlink 2 on December 25, 2024. Reuters THE WATCH STAFF NATO allies reacted swiftly and decisively to counter sabotage threats in the Baltic Sea in late December 2024 and early January 2025 after a vessel associated with Russia’s sanction-evading fleet cut undersea cables, at least the fourth time such an incident has occurred in a little more than a year. Finland seized the vessel and…
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The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced in December 2024 that it has made large-scale upgrades to federal cyber defenses since the 2020 Solar Winds hacking attack by Russian-linked forces. AFP/GETTY IMAGES A top official at the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) told cybersecurity professionals in December 2024 that technological and logistical upgrades over the past four years have eliminated the weaknesses exploited by Russian-linked hackers during the SolarWinds cyberattack. Jeff Greene, CISA’s executive assistance director for cybersecurity, told attendees at a cybersecurity conference that his agency can now detect state-sponsored hacking in real time after improvements…
Swedish Army Soldiers prepare for Arctic exercises in northern Sweden. A recent commentary in War on the Rocks, a military affairs website, argues that NATO should take a primary role in the region to allow the U.S. to focus more military resources in Asia. AFP/GETTY IMAGES An increased presence by NATO military forces in the Arctic could allow United States to focus its military energy on the Indo-Pacific theater, according to an analysis in War on the Rocks, a military affairs news site. The November 2024 commentary — “More NATO in the Arctic could free the United States up to…
The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) hosted an expert exchange to improve instruction techniques with members of U.S. Northern Command and the Rhode Island National Guard in December 2024. ROYAL BAHAMAS DEFENCE FORCE Instructors shared best practices to improve technical and other types of military training during an expert exchange involving the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF), the U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) Office of Defense Cooperation and the Rhode Island National Guard in December 2024. The weeklong training “focused on emphasizing instructional strategies and equipping participants with essential skills for effective teaching and leadership,” according to an RBDF news release.…
U.S. Marines load a Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System onto a trailer during aerial transport operations on Marine Corps Base Hawaii in November 2024. The remotely operated anti-ship missile system allows the U.S. to effectively defend against attempted landings or bombardments from hostile naval forces. U.S. MARINE CORPS The U.S. Marines have deployed a cutting-edge anti-ship missile system for the first time, enhancing the Corps’ efforts to bolster its military capabilities to defend against approaching ships attempting to bombard or land troops on islands. The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, based in Oahu, Hawaii, received the Naval-Marine Expeditionary…
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has stepped up enforcement efforts at the U.S. border since her October 2024 inauguration. AFP/GETTY IMAGES Mexican security forces seized a record amount of fentanyl in a series of operations in December 2024 targeting the Sinaloa drug cartel, which has taken a large role in production of the narcotic. Authorities announced the capture of 1,110 kilograms of fentanyl, the equivalent of about 20 million doses of the deadly drug, in two separate actions. These interdictions also resulted in the arrest of two Sinaloa fentanyl cell leaders as well as chemical precursors, scales and mixers, according to…
The North American Aerospace Defense Command conducted exercise Falcon Virgo over the national capital region in November 2024. FIRST AIR FORCE The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) executed an air-defense exercise in the Washington, D.C., region in November 2024 that integrated U.S. Air Force F-16 warplanes, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Army helicopters and Army and Civil Air Patrol planes, demonstrating the interoperability of U.S. warplanes and civilian aircraft. Operation Falcon Virgo, conducted by the Continental U.S. NORAD Region, is a routine mission supporting Operation Noble Eagle, a NORAD exercise that incorporates all air defense and air sovereignty missions…
Crew members from the Coast Guard cutter Vigilant (WMEC-617) offload more than 1,510 pounds of cocaine and 1,470 pounds of marijuana with a combined value of about $18.5 million in Port Everglades, Florida, on November 22, 2024. PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS ERIC RODRIGUEZ/U.S. COAST GUARD The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant (WMEC-617) returned home to Cape Canaveral, Florida, on November 23, 2024, after offloading more than 1,510 pounds of cocaine and 1,470 pounds of marijuana with a combined value of about $18.5 million in Port Everglades. Crew members from the Vigilant, working alongside interagency and international partners while…
The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Stratton returned to port in November 2024 after an eventful 110-day deployment in the Arctic that involved tracking Russian warships, dramatic rescue operations and extensive dialogue with remote Alaskan Indigenous communities. U.S. COAST GUARD A U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) cutter tracked Russian war vessels, aided two disabled fishing ships in the volatile Bering Sea, and deepened ties with Indigenous communities in a 110-day Arctic deployment. USCG Cutter Stratton returned to its home base in Alameda, California, in early November 2024 from its voyage north of the Arctic Circle having successfully completed its mission of…
The Yi Peng 3, a Chinese ship linked to Russian sabotage of undersea cables in November 2024, was halted in international waters by naval vessels from Denmark, Germany and Sweden. AFP/GETTY IMAGES NATO naval forces responded quickly in November 2024 to detain a Chinese ship linked to a Russian attack on European infrastructure along NATO’s northern flank. The Yi Peng 3, a Chinese cargo ship, was identified by investigators as having severed undersea communication cables connecting four northern European countries in the Baltic Sea by dragging its anchor for more than 160 kilometers, according to The Wall Street Journal…