The United States Coast Guard’s newest polar icebreaker, the Storis, returned to its temporary Seattle home port on May 11, 2026, after a deployment to the Bering Sea that lasted 36 days and logged 4,800 nautical miles. The voyage marked an early operational test for the newest addition to a small but growing fleet that is expected to play a critical role in U.S. Arctic operations. The winter patrol focused on strengthening operational readiness and interoperability with other military assets. The cutter’s crew also tested ways to support prolonged operations in the harsh Arctic maritime environment. “Operating the Storis in…
The Watch
The Canadian Army is inviting private-sector companies to compete for the right to develop low-cost precision drones that can identify, track and support destroy adversarial weapons, the government announced in May 2026. The Minerva Initiative, a public-private partnership, was aided by $1.5 million in government seed money, part of the modernization of the Canadian Armed Forces. “The Minerva Initiative reflects our commitment to equipping the Canadian Army with cutting-edge, cost-effective capabilities that deliver real results in the field. By harnessing Canadian innovation and strengthening partnerships across sectors, we are developing smarter tools that enhance decision-making and support our soldiers where…
A United States Navy littoral combat ship (LCS) left its squadron’s home port in Florida in May 2026 for a scheduled deployment to bolster the security of the Mexico-U.S. border, a U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) news release stated. The USS Cooperstown left Naval Station Mayport on May 16 to relieve another Freedom-variant LCS, the USS Wichita, which had been engaged in border security operations since November 2025. Both warships belong to Littoral Combat Ship Squadron (LCSRON) 2, which has been under USNORTHCOM command as a maritime component of border security efforts. The vessels are fast, maneuverable warships designed to operate…
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has been in office for more than a year, and her administration has demonstrated a willingness to confront transnational criminal organizations, or TCOs, and strengthen security along the country’s 3,145-kilometer border with the United States while retaining national sovereignty, a key principle of Mexico-U.S. relations. Already, observers of Mexico have noted successful operations against TCOs, including the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, and a renewed emphasis on intelligence gathering, shutting down cartel financial networks and cooperation with U.S. agencies. Sheinbaum has also moved 10,000 troops to the Mexico-U.S. border, which has seen illegal crossings plummet to their lowest…
Authorities in the Mexican state of Chihuahua are spending millions of dollars in a high-tech fight to curb the illicit activities of transnational criminal organizations. At the heart of this push is the Sentinel Tower, a 20-story building nearing completion in Ciudad Juárez, the Latin Times online newspaper reported in May 2025. When finished, the surveillance network that will operate from the building — the tallest in the El Paso,Texas-Juárez region — will have at its disposal high-tech surveillance equipment, including facial-recognition software, license plate readers and 4,400 mobile cameras. A helipad is atop the tower, which is part of…
As 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 (c-UAS) system for European allies: the Dronebuster 4-EU. The Dronebuster is a hand-held, nonkinetic device that sends electromagnetic signals to disrupt or disable UAS navigation and control. It also can spoof or simulate global navigation satellite signals, potentially ordering the drone to return to its starting point or shift direction. Weighing 2.25 kilograms, it has an effective range of 1 kilometer. DZYNE’s detect, track, identify, mitigate kit upgrades…
Mexican authorities destroyed three synthetic drug labs in Sinaloa, seizing more than 4,000 kilograms of methamphetamine and nearly 1,000 kilograms of other synthetic drugs in May 2026. Meanwhile, across the country, naval and state police raided cartel sea-based smuggling depots in beach communities in the southern state of Chiapas. The security actions demonstrate the continued resolve of Mexico to confront transnational criminal organizations (TCOs). The federal government, through the Secretariat of the Navy (MARINA) and the federal security forces, is “keeping its promise to collaborate with local authorities to uphold the rule of law and combat illicit activities that endanger…
A group of United States senators traveled to four Arctic nations in May 2026 to highlight the growing strategic importance of the region and demonstrate U.S. resolve to keep adversarial forces at bay. The eight senators, divided equally along partisan lines and led by Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Jeanne Shaheen, said their trip was to gain a deeper understanding of the region. The U.S. has 1.17 million square kilometers of Arctic territory, fourth in size — behind Canada, Denmark and Russia — of the eight nations with High North real estate. The delegation — which also included Sens. Katie Britt…
The United States Coast Guard will grow its specialized interdiction teams and set up its own Special Missions Command (SMC) to oversee the deployable forces. “We are forging our most elite operators into a single, razor-sharp instrument of national power,” said Adm. Kevin Lunday, commandant of the Coast Guard. The new command will strengthen the readiness, operational effectiveness and interoperability of the Coast Guard, which is responding to more national emergencies and events as the demand for specialized forces increases. The Coast Guard chose the existing Coast Guard C5I Service Center facility in Kearneysville, West Virginia, as the future site of the SMC. The command…
The Utah National Guard collaborated with local partners in April 2026 to respond to a simulated attack on the United States. National Guard units responded to attacks on a water plant, a train and other events associated with an assault on critical infrastructure and heavily trafficked commercial sites. The first-ever exercise was dubbed Operation Wolverine in homage to the 1980’s film “Red Dawn,” which depicted a Cold War-era Russian-Cuban invasion of the U.S. “Exercise Wolverine builds on that concept, simulating what happens when an adversary targets the U.S. homeland. The exercise focused on responding to potential threats at home, testing…