Norwegian police said in August 2024 that a critical cable was cut at the Evenes Air Station in Norway’s Far North, pictured. The incident is the latest in a string of sabotage incidents that appear to bear the imprint of Russian-backed actors. NORWEGIAN AIR FORCE THE WATCH STAFF An unknown saboteur cut a critical communications cable to a Norwegian air base in the Arctic, the latest incident of sabotage in the Nordic region. Norwegian police said the April 2024 incident has been turned over to state prosecutors and amounts to “an intentional and calculated action” at the Evenes Air Station,…
The Watch
Soldiers of 1-52 General Support Aviation Battalion and 1-25 Attack Reconnaissance Battalion stand in formation in June 2024 before being patched as members of the 11th Airborne Division’s new Arctic Aviation Command during a ceremony at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. SPC. KOURTNEY NUNNERY/U.S. ARMY THE WATCH STAFF U.S. Army helicopter pilots assigned to operate in Arctic conditions will be incorporated into a newly unified Arctic force, the Arctic Aviation Command — which falls under the umbrella of the 11th Airborne Division — as the military continues to reprioritize the Far North in the face of changing climate and rising tensions with…
A Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 lands in Inuvik during 2022’s Noble Defender exercise. Defence Minister Bill Blair visited the Arctic community in August 2024 to highlight the increased defense spending in the strategic western Arctic region. CANADIAN NORAD REGION THE WATCH STAFF Canadian Minister of National Defence Bill Blair met with Indigenous, municipal and territorial officials in August 2024 at a key western Arctic transportation hub to discuss the country’s emphasis on Arctic security. Blair spent three days in Inuvik in the Northwest Territories explaining Canada’s recently released defense plan, Our North, Strong and Free. “The security challenges facing…
DIÁLOGO ILLUSTRATION DIÁLOGO AMERICAS A new government report highlights the infiltration of three Mexican drug cartels — the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Los Zetas and the Sinaloa Cartel — into Colombia. The report by Colombia’s Ombudsman Office, “The Contrasts of Humanitarian Reality,” says the organizations have become embedded in the country’s Atlantic territories. “In Colombia … there is infiltration by many international cartels,” Daniel Adler, an Argentine specialist in security and urban counterterrorism, told Diálogo Americas, a publication of U.S. Southern Command. “Colombia is the main cocaine producer on the planet. Logistically, it also has a window: It borders Ecuador…
The Royal Bahamas Defence Force patrol boats worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to disrupt a drug-smuggling vessel near Long Island in the Bahamas in August 2024. ROYAL BAHAMAS DEFENCE FORCE THE WATCH STAFF The United States Coast Guard had a busy summer conducting narcotics interdictions in the Caribbean with its partners from the Bahamas, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) and the U.S. Coast Guard cooperated to disrupt a drug-smuggling operation in the Bahamas in August 2024. The seizure of a vessel near Long Island represented another example of how the close collaboration…
Chinese-style lions guard the entrance to the People’s Republic of China’s scientific station in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago. The PRC’s increased activity in dual-use research, which can also have military applications, concerns many Arctic experts. AFP/GETTY IMAGES THE WATCH STAFF An investigation by Newsweek, a United States news magazine, found that the People’s Republic of China is pursuing “dual-use” scientific research in the Svalbard archipelago in Norway’s High North — as well as the Chukchi Sea near the Bering Strait — that could also be used to advance its military interests and Arctic ambitions. The PRC is also increasing its presence…
U.S. and partner nations participating in PANAMAX 2024 tour the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Minneapolis-Saint at the conclusion of PANAMAX 2024 on August 14, 2024, at Naval Station Mayport. PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS JACOB SIPPEL/U.S. NAVY THE WATCH STAFF When it debuted in 2003, the biennial PANAMAX exercise had three nations participating, including the United States. Fast forward 21 years, and the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)-led operation — which took place August 5-14 at locations across the U.S. — brought together 500 military members from 11 nations and their U.S. counterparts to conduct a simulated response to a crisis…
Canada announced the construction of a quick-reaction facility in Quebec that will house 32 new CF-35A fighter jets. The rendering depicts the facility, which is expected to be ready by 2027. CANADIAN DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENSE THE WATCH STAFF Canada will build a new “Quick Reaction Alert” facility at its existing Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Bagotville to better support Ottawa’s role in the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD) mission to protect the North American homeland. The Quebec facility will house 32 of Canada’s soon-to-arrive CF-35As in a “flight-ready state,” according to a news release from Canada’s Department of National…
Royal Bahamas Defence Force members participate in a Women, Peace and Security meeting in the United States in February 2024. The RBDF celebrated its largest female class of recruits to the 1,700-member force in July. SGT. MOZER DA CUNHA/INTER-AMERICAN DEFENSE COLLEGE THE WATCH STAFF The Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) marked its largest class of female recruits in its history in July 2024 as it welcomed 35 women into its ranks. The graduation ceremony at the RBDF’s headquarters, Coral Harbour Base, also witnessed the force’s largest overall contingent of 126 recruits in its 44-year history. The recruits successfully completed 20…
The U.S. Department of Defense released its 2024 Arctic Strategy in July. The 28-page document calls for increased investment and bolstering alliances in an increasingly contested region. AFP/GETTY IMAGES THE WATCH STAFF A changing climate, increasing threats from Russia and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and an unforgiving physical environment all present challenges to the United States’ goal of a stable and secure Arctic region. To confront those challenges, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) updated its Arctic Strategy in July 2024 to reflect its posture of a monitor-and-respond approach to potential conflicts. The 28-page document outlines the U.S.…