The United States government is negotiating with its NATO ally Finland to buy an icebreaker and possibly two more from the Nordic country. The news follows previous U.S. policy steps, including the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE Pact) with Canada and Finland to form an icebreaker-building partnership and the U.S.’s recent purchase of a commercial icebreaker from a global energy company. U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced the most recent negotiations with Finland at the June 2025 NATO summit at The Hague in The Netherlands. The purchase is part of a larger, sustained effort to bolster the U.S. capability in the…
The Watch
Senior defense officials from the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) traveled to Bermuda in July 2025 to meet with their counterparts as troops from both British Overseas Territories (BOT) trained together. The militaries have increased collaboration and joint exercises in recent months, deepening an already close relationship between the Royal Bermuda Regiment (RBR) and the TCI Regiment. Bermuda’s Minister of National Security Michael Weeks visited RBR headquarters at Warwick Camp where he discussed security and defense matters with TCI Permanent Secretary of National Security Tito Lightbourne and the TCI Regiment’s commanding officer, Lt. Col. Ennis Grant. Tarita Cartwright, Bermuda’s acting…
As the technology for unmanned aerial systems (UAS), or drones, evolves rapidly, U.S. companies remain at the forefront in countering them. In April 2025, DZYNE Technologies of Irvine, California, unveiled its latest counter-UAS system for European allies: the Dronebuster 4-EU. The Dronebuster is a handheld, nonkinetic electronic device that sends electromagnetic signals to disrupt or disable UAS navigation and control. It also can spoof or simulate GPS signals of various types, potentially ordering the drone to return to its starting point or shift direction. Weighing 2¼ kilograms, it has an effective range of 1 kilometer. It’s usable on fixed sites…
Canadian Minister of National Defence David McGuinty congratulates Lt. Gen. Iain Huddleston on his posting as North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) deputy commander and Canadian Element NORAD commander during a ceremony July 15, 2025, at Peterson Space. JOSHUA ARMSTRONG/U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Canadian Minister of National Defence David McGuinty traveled to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) headquarters in Colorado for the first time on July 15. His visit coincided with NORAD’s transfer of appointment ceremony of the deputy commander, who is always Canadian. While in Colorado Springs, McGuinty met with Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command…
A mutual aid agreement between Mexico and the United States has come in handy so far in 2025. Dozens of Mexican firefighters responded to the Los Angeles fires in January, and U.S. firefighters helped douse flames near Tijuana in June. Above, Mexican firefighters arrive in California to help fight wildfires on January 11, 2025. CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S OFFICE A little-known aspect of the bilateral cooperation that occurs along the 3,145-kilometer-long border between Mexico and the United States is a formal commitment to help one another during natural disasters. A bilateral mutual aid agreement, dating back more than two decades, allows…
Denmark will lease a NASAMS air defense system from a Norwegian company to restart its own air defense capabilities after shuttering its program in 2005. ROYAL NORWEGIAN NAVY In the face of an increasing threat, Denmark announced in July 2025 that it would restart its air defense system, which the NATO member had shut down two decades ago. The Danish government said it would acquire three different air defense systems, including leasing a Norwegian system, highlighting an increasingly close military relationship between the Nordic nations. The Danish Ministry of Defence already had announced plans to acquire the German-made Iris-T surface-launched…
U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, right, stepped into his new role as Supreme Allied Commander Europe at a July 4, 2025, ceremony at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Mons, Belgium, succeeding Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli of the U.S. Army. NATO A United States Air Force general assumed command of Allied Command Operations in July 2025, taking the helm of the U.S. and allied forces in Europe at a high-stakes moment as the Russia-Ukraine war rages. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich stepped into his new role as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) at a July 4 ceremony in…
Anne Sofie, 21, poses for a photo during final exercises at a training area near the Royal Danish Army’s barracks in Hovelte, 25 kilometers north of Copenhagen, Denmark. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Women in Denmark who turn 18 after July 1, 2025, are now eligible for military conscription, as the nation moves to expand its armed forces amid Russian aggression and to meet new NATO expectations. Denmark joins Nordic neighbors Norway and Sweden as some of the few countries in the world to conscript women for military service. Conscription in Denmark is a lottery system. Under the new rules, women who…
Forces from Finland, France, the United Kingdom and United States partnered in Atlantic Trident, a two-week, tactical and operational training exercise held across multiple locations in Finland June 16-27, 2025. AIRMAN 1ST CLASS SIERRA CASTEEL/U.S. AIR FORCE Two F-35 Norwegian warplanes in July 2025 conducted training exercises in the Finnmark region of Norway, which borders Russia’s Kola Peninsula. The exercises are the latest sign that the founding NATO member is on high alert with its eastern neighbor in the increasingly disputed Barents Sea region. The Royal Norwegian Air Force confirmed the training to the Norwegian media in what has…
An intercepted boat laden with Haitian migrants is guided ashore by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force Marine Unit. ROYAL TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS POLICE FORCE In a late-night operation, the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) intercepted a vessel carrying 194 immigrants on July 5, 2025. Marine Unit officers aboard the patrol vessels Sea Pursuit and Sea Contender were alerted to the unidentified boat in the waters of Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) by the Marine Operations Centre shortly before 10 p.m. local time. The 15-meter vessel, powered by two outboard engines, was transporting…