A woman waves the Canadian and Northwest Territories flags near Yellowknife. The Canadian Armed Forces is building a new multipurpose facility in Yellowknife to increase its defense capabilities and forge deeper ties with surrounding Indigenous and Northern communities. AFP/GETTY IMAGES THE WATCH STAFF Canada will build a new multiuse facility in its Far North to enhance its ability to deploy forces and improve domain awareness. The Yellowknife defense facility and housing initiative also prioritizes the needs of neighboring Indigenous and local communities, giving the Canadian Armed Forces facility a dual military and civilian-use role that furthers the country’s goals of…
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The Royal Bermuda Regiment engaged in its annual Island Warrior exercise at Marine Corps Base Lejeune in North Carolina in April 2024. The exercise focused on socioeconomic tensions, gang violence and rising crime rates. ROYAL BERMUDA REGIMENT THE WATCH STAFF Motivated by a desire to improve their operational readiness and learn new urban security techniques, 300 soldiers from the Royal Bermuda Regiment (RBR) arrived at Marine Corps Base Lejeune in April 2024, where they rendezvoused with troops from other British Overseas Territories — the Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands and Falkland Islands — for Island Warrior 24. After two…
Norwegian Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram, from left, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum take part in a news conference to discuss increased defense spending. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THE WATCH STAFF The Norwegian government announced another large defense spending increase in May 2024 that will bring the Nordic country in line with NATO’s goal of member states spending 2% of GDP on defense before the NATO summit in July. Prime Minister Jonas Støre explained the mid-year budget spike as necessary because of increased tensions in the region. “We must increase the operational capability of the…
A NORAD F-22 Raptor intercepts at Russian Tu-95 bomber in the Alaskan Area Defense Identification Zone on June 16, 2020. NORAD employs a layered defense network of radars, satellites and fighter aircraft to identify aircraft and determine the appropriate response. NORAD THE WATCH STAFF The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in recent months has continued to closely monitor Russian military aircraft activity near Alaska’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). On both April 5 and May 2, 2024, NORAD detected and tracked Russian aircraft operating within this zone. A NORAD news release about the latest incident stated that “the Russian…
A Royal Danish Air Force F-16 pilot participates in Operation Global Guardian 24-2. OPERATION GLOBAL GUARDIAN 24-2 THE WATCH STAFF North American and European allies conducted Operation Global Guardian on June 18, 2024, to demonstrate the advantage of global alliances, integrated deterrence, layered defense, readiness and the seamless integration of Air Forces from North America and European nations in support of Arctic Defense and NATO’s northern flank. The Air Forces from eight nations participated including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Kingdom of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. The operation was part of the Global Guardian series of biannual…
Finnish Maj. Gen. Juha-Pekka Keränen, right, and U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Scott Robertson stand outside the headquarters of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command. MAYA JOHNSON Maj. Gen. Juha-Pekka Keränen, commander of the Finnish Air Force, visited the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) headquarters in April 2024 in an exchange that demonstrated ongoing efforts to strengthen ties and deepen collaboration between NORAD, USNORTHCOM, Finland and other Nordic allies and partners. Accompanying Maj. Gen. Keränen was Col. Markus Mecklin, the Finnish Defence cooperation attaché stationed in Washington D.C. Keränen and Mecklin…
The screen at an October 2023 news conference at the National Bureau of Investigation in Vantaa, Finland, shows the Finnish Border Guard’s photo of Hong Kong-registered cargo ship Newnew Polar Bear, which is suspected of damaging the BaltiConnector gas line by dragging its anchor. AFP/GETTY IMAGES THE WATCH STAFF Six NATO allies that border the increasingly strategic North Sea signed an agreement in April 2024 to coordinate defense and security measures after a series of underseas communication and gas pipelines were cut in recent months. Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom will now jointly protect infrastructure…
An Air National Guard C-130 out of Reno, Nevada, drops retardant on the Beckwourth Complex Fire on July 9, 2021, near Frenchman Lake in northern California. U.S. AIR FORCE THE WATCH STAFF U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is best known for its mission to defend the homeland from foreign adversaries, but another important mission for the command is Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA). As the summer wildfire season approaches, USNORTHCOM plays an important supporting role in protecting homeland infrastructure, natural resources and human lives. As the volatility and range of wildfires increase across the country — especially in the West…
A Royal Canadian Navy Arctic Offshore Patrol Vehicle patrols the icy Arctic waters. ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY THE WATCH STAFF Canada conducted a major exercise with its Pacific Fleet in which one of its newest vessels, HMCS Max Bernays, an Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel (AOPV), participated. The exercise strengthens the readiness of the closest U.S. ally to protect the western approaches to the North American homelands. The task group exercise began April 22, 2024, and extended through May 3, 2024, in the Strait of Juan De Fuca, which lies near the Pacific Northwest border of the U.S, the Salish Sea and…
Royal Canadian Air Force Lt.-Gen. Blaise Frawley, deputy commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, hosts the celebration of NORAD’s 66th Anniversary in the atrium of the headquarters on Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, on May 10, 2024. JHOMIL BANSIL/U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE THE WATCH STAFF The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) marked its 66th anniversary in May 2024 with a ceremony at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The decision by Canada and the United States to form a binational air defense in 1958 ushered in a new era of bilateral partnership in pursuit of…