The 399-foot U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Star opens a channel to Greenland. U.S. COAST GUARD The Watch Staff The recent agreement involving Canada, Finland and the United States to produce icebreakers will help maintain the international rules-based order in the Arctic and is an important step to counter growing cooperation between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia, experts contend. The pact will also provide lower costs and technological transfers among the allies, which will aid more broadly in NATO’s defense of its northern flank, according to two U.S. experts on the PRC who examined the issue in Foreign…
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The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) has partnered with a U.S. company, Swift Tactical Systems, to field more drones and increase the force’s domain awareness. SWIFT TACTICAL SYSTEMS/SWIFT ENGINEERING THE WATCH STAFF The Bahamas graduated 13 newly certified drone pilots in August 2024 in its latest multiagency training session. The drone training program bolsters national security and defense — especially maritime domain awareness — of a key U.S. partner in the Caribbean region. Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) Capt. Carlton Bethel, the director of the Ministry of National Security’s national unmanned systems (BAHNUS) program, said adding drone pilots increases the…
Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen speaks to the media at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in June 2024. Finland is negotiating terms under which NATO forces can be stationed in the Nordic country, including during times of “tense” border relations with Russia. AFP/GETTY IMAGES THE WATCH STAFF Finland is discussing plans to host NATO troops and exercises, Scandinavian media outlets reported. Those reports indicate that NATO troops may be based in Finland in peacetime as well as war, a major shift in the traditionally non-aligned country’s national defense policy. The revelations follow a NATO defense ministers meeting this year…
U.S. Army North (ARNORTH) Commander Lt. Gen. John Evans visits Fort Pickett in Virginia shortly after taking command in December 2021. Evans retired as commander in August 2024. U.S. ARMY THE WATCH STAFF U.S. Army North’s (ARNORTH) commander, Lt. Gen. John Evans, retired in August 2024 after nearly three years of leadership at the command, which oversees all Army activity in the U.S. and supports civil authorities in responding to natural disasters. U.S. Army North also works closely with Canada and Mexico in collaborative efforts to strengthen defense relationships to address shared security concerns in the cooperative defense of North…
Canada launched its fifth Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship in August 2024. The Frèdèrick Rolette will bolster the country’s Arctic defense and security posture. IRVING SHIPBUILDING THE WATCH STAFF The fifth of six Artic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) was delivered four months ahead of schedule to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in August 2024, the latest milestone in a major overhaul of Canada’s fleet. The Frédérick Rolette, like the other Arctic vessels, is designed for long Arctic voyages and will help Canada defend its extensive territory in its Far North. “The delivery of our fifth Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel,…
Iceland Minister of Foreign Affairs Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjoro Gylfadottir talks with Rear Adm. Patrick Hayden of the U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, U.S. 6th Fleet, during the annual NATO exercise Northern Viking. GOVERNMENT OF ICELAND THE WATCH STAFF About 1,200 personnel from nine NATO-member navies performed a complex set of maritime operations to defend Iceland from a simulated attack over an 11-day period beginning in August 2024. The operations demonstrated the interoperability of the naval forces and honed advanced surveillance and deterrence techniques in a highly contested, critically important sea passage known as the GIUK Gap, an acronym for Greenland, Iceland…
The Mexican military will have new leaders now that incoming President Claudia Sheinbaum has started her term. Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo will head the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) and Adm. Raymundo Morales Angeles will be Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR). SEDENA THE WATCH STAFF Mexico’s incoming President, Claudia Sheinbaum, named her picks to lead the Mexican Armed Forces in early September 2024, weeks before she assumes power. Sheinbaum announced her selection of Gen. Ricardo Trevilla Trejo to head the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) and Adm. Raymundo Morales Angeles as Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR) on September 6, 2024.…
Officers of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (Marine Unit), with assistance from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, intercept a vessel carrying undocumented migrants near West Caicos in August 2024. ROYAL TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS POLICE FORCE THE WATCH STAFF The heightened political, economic and social unrest in Haiti has increased security challenges in the southeastern approaches to the United States. The instability has contributed to increased collaboration and interoperability between key partners in the Caribbean including the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) and the United States. In August 2024, a flurry of interceptions of undocumented migrants…
A contingent of Rhode Island National Guardsmen trained with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force in August 2024, focusing on mission planning, intelligence gathering and information security. ROYAL BAHAMAS DEFENCE FORCE THE WATCH STAFF The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) trained for a week in August 2024 with a Rhode Island National Guard contingent in a collaborative partnership to enhance operational readiness in intelligence gathering, information security and mission planning. The two forces have nearly 20 years of formal cooperation, and the latest training exercise allowed RBDF members and National Guardsmen to share expertise and foster new relationships. RBDF Capt. Tellis…
The Mexican long-range ocean patrol ship, ARM Benito Juarez, participated in the RIMPAC 24 exercise in Hawaii this year. The Benito Juarez sailed to Chile in August 2024 to take part in the UNITAS exercise. PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS COURTNEY STRAHAN/U.S. NAVY THE WATCH STAFF A Mexican naval task force set sail in August 2024 on a long-range ocean patrol vessel from Manzanillo en route to the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)-led UNITAS exercise in Chile. The Mexican Navy Task Force “UNITAS-SOLIDAREX 2024” traveled aboard the ARM Benito Juarez, accompanied by a Panther multipurpose helicopter. The September 2-12 exercise has been…