The Norwegian Navy will nearly double its assets in a massive upgrade aimed at deterring threats to Norwegian waters and territory. Above, a Nansen-class frigate patrols Norwegian waters. NORWEGIAN NAVY THE WATCH STAFF The Norwegian Navy will be getting a major upgrade as a substantial midyear budget increase envisions dozens of new ships, air defense systems and helicopters that will allow the Nordic country to better patrol its Arctic territory and defend against threats. “We must be able to safeguard our maritime interests on an independent basis,” Navy Chief Oliver Berdal told the High North News, a Norwegian newspaper. Berdal…
The Watch
Fears of a Sino-Russian alliance in the Arctic are overblown, wrote an Australian defense expert in a recent analysis of the relationship between Russia and the People’s Republic of China. AFP/GETTY IMAGES THE WATCH STAFF Increasing economic and military cooperation between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia – and the seeming emergence of an authoritarian axis – is causing concern among many observers in the international community. The PRC-Russia relationship, though, is largely transactional and could fray in the coming years as the underlying tensions between the two increase while global competition in the region heightens, wrote Dr.…
U.S. Marines and Sailors attend a concert hosted by the USO during Fleet Week Miami aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan on May 11, 2024. LANCE CPL. GRACE STOVER/U.S. MARINE CORPS THE WATCH STAFF The inaugural Fleet Week Miami drew five Navy and Coast Guard ships and nearly 7,000 Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen to Florida to promote understanding of the military and the sacrifices made for the nation’s defense. The event, which ran from May 5 to May 12, 2024, included sold-out public tours of the five ships — the USS Harry Truman, the USS Leyte Gulf, the…
Fijian law enforcement officers conduct a boarding of a China-flagged fishing vessel off the coast of Fiji as part of Operation Blue Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard in 2022. IMAGE CREDIT: PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS NATE LITTLEJOHN/U.S. COAST GUARD INDO-PACIFIC DEFENSE FORUM Seven years after the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed June 5 the International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, Indo-Pacific allies and partners continue to lead the battle against an illicit activity that the U.N. says has “major implications for the conservation and management of ocean resources, as well as the food…
Mexican Navy crew members dock their vessel at the Bridgetown Port in Bridgetown, Barbados, in May 2024. The Mexican Navy has played a key role in stemming the flow of narcotics in North America. STAFF SGT. ELIZABETH BRYSON/U.S. ARMY THE WATCH STAFF Mexico’s Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR) continues to make great strides in its capabilities and capacity to fight against Mexican criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking. SEMAR has had consecutive record years of narcotic interdictions. In 2023, SEMAR recorded an all-time high in cocaine seizures, nearly surpassing the total amount seized in the previous four years combined, according…
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Daniel Musso, a 57th Rescue Squadron Joint Terminal attack controller, participates in Nordic Response 24 in Moen, Norway. TECH SGT. JUSTIN CARNAHAN/U.S. AIR FORCE THE WATCH STAFF Russia has moved its military training exercises away from the Norwegian Sea into the Barents Sea around the Kola Peninsula, according to a study by Norwegian researchers and published by High North News, a Norwegian newspaper. The shift in Russian tactics remains shrouded in secrecy, but the study concluded that the most likely reason for conducting the exercises closer to home is to conserve fuel and ammunition for…
The U.S. is considering curbs on the People’s Republic of China’s ability to import sophisticated AI models. REUTERS REUTERS The United States is poised to open a new front to safeguard U.S.-based artificial intelligence (AI) technology from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia. The Commerce Department is considering a new push to restrict the export of proprietary or closed-source AI models, which have training software and data that are kept under wraps, three people familiar with the matter said. Any action would complement a series of measures over the last two years to block the export of sophisticated…
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gives a speech alongside Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, obscured, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, right, during the flag-raising ceremony for Sweden’s accession to NATO. AFP/GETTY IMAGES PER CONCORDIAM STAFF When Hungary’s National Assembly voted to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO on February 26, 2024, it ushered in a new era for European security and dealt another setback to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bid to forestall expansion of the Alliance. Sweden takes its place at the table as the Alliance’s 32nd member, following Finland, which became a member in April 2023. The Nordic…
DU Korbel Graduate Students participate in N3SP forum on national security and homeland defense. N3SP MAYA JOHNSON National security students from five Colorado universities gathered at the U.S. Air Force Academy in April 2024 to exchange ideas, increase awareness and foster cooperation in national security and strategic studies. The 2024 National Security Strategic Studies Partnership Forum (N3SP) also aimed to strengthen relations between universities, military commands and key industries such as aerospace, cyber and defense within Colorado. This year’s forum included five panels and a session featuring research by both graduate and undergraduate students from the University of Colorado at…
Finnish Soldiers from the Finnish-Swedish Division ride the Leopard 2A6, a third-generation German main battle tank, during a border crossing demonstration by Swedish and Finnish troops as part of the NATO Nordic Response 24 military exercise on March 9, 2024. AFP/GETTY IMAGES THE WATCH STAFF Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened retaliation against Finland after the Nordic country applied to join NATO in 2022 — a decision that reversed decades of nonalignment. Finland applied for NATO membership following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and Putin’s saber-rattling against Finland isn’t having its desired effect. Recent analyses indicate that Russia doesn’t…