THE WATCH STAFF A closed section of Michigan highway recently transformed into a United States military runway as aviators trained for agile combat employment (ACE). The 9,000-foot section of Michigan Highway M-28 was the landing strip for five types of warplanes from the Air National Guard (ANG), Air Force Reserve (AFR) and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). In all, an A-10, U-28A, C-145, C-146 and MC-12W landed and took off June 28-29, 2022, from the highway in the state’s upper peninsula, according to a July 4 news release from the Michigan National Guard. (Pictured: An A-10 Thunderbolt II from…
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REUTERS Canadian businesses operating in critical infrastructure sectors would be required to report cyberattacks to the federal government and would have to fortify their cyber systems under a new law introduced June 14, 2022. The legislation identifies finance, telecommunications, energy and transportation sectors as being vital to national security and public safety but stops short of naming any companies. “There was a lot of thought given into identifying which sectors are vital to national security and public safety,” Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told reporters, adding that operators of critical infrastructure would be identified after consulting the sectors. The legislation…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Turkey agreed June 28, 2022, to lift its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, ending an impasse that had clouded a leaders’ summit opening in Madrid amid Europe’s worst security crisis in decades that was triggered by the war in Ukraine. After urgent top-level talks with leaders of the three countries, alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that “we now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO.” He called it a “historic decision.” Among its many shattering consequences, President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted Sweden and Finland…
U.S. STRATEGIC COMMAND The United States Navy successfully launched an unarmed life-extended Trident II D5 (D5LE) from the ballistic missile submarine USS Kentucky off the Southern California coast June 17, 2022. The missile’s test launch, pictured, was one of four conducted June 15-17 as part of a Navy Commander Evaluation Test (CET), which validates performance of the Trident II D5LE strategic weapons system. The Navy conducts CETs and other missile flight tests to evaluate and ensure the system’s reliability, readiness and accuracy. An effective nuclear deterrent is essential to U.S. national security and the security of allies and partners. The…
THE WATCH STAFF When the German Ministry of Defense lost transportation to the United States for its SARah-1 satellite, it had to scramble to find an alternative for getting the spacecraft to California for its June 18, 2022, launch. So, as the popular phrase asks: “Who you gonna call?” The answer: the National Guard. The SARah-1, pictured in illustration, was to be shipped by a Ukrainian commercial cargo plane to Vandenberg Space Force Base, but the ongoing war in Ukraine made those aircraft unavailable, according to a June 22 news release from the National Guard Bureau (NGB). Instead, the cloud-penetrating…
THE WATCH STAFF The United States, Canada and seven other NATO nations carried out a successful hunt for submarines during joint exercise Dynamic Mongoose, which is held every summer in the Norwegian Sea. Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United Kingdom also took part in the June 13-24, 2022, anti-submarine warfare training conducted by NATO’s Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM). The exercise included three submarines, 11 surface ships and 16 maritime patrol aircraft. “The coordination between ships, submarines and aircraft can be difficult but is the most effective way to detect and track submarines,” Royal Netherlands Navy Commodore A.…
REUTERS Germany’s Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, has approved creation of a 100 billion euro (U.S. $107.2 billion) special defense fund that Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The money is destined to help rebuild Germany’s military, which has suffered years of neglect following the end of the Cold War. The government decided to amend the constitution to create the fund to exempt it from Germany’s so-called debt brake that enforces fiscal restraint. It needed backing from the opposition conservatives as well as the ruling coalition to reach the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed for…
REUTERS Finland, Sweden and Norway should consider organizing their air-defense control jointly in territories north of the Arctic Circle in coming years, the speaker of the Finnish parliament said. If Finland and neighboring Sweden’s applications for membership in NATO are successful, the Nordics could for the first time consider organizing parts of their defense jointly with their common neighbor Norway, which is already a NATO member. “We all three — Sweden, Norway and Finland — have relatively strong air forces and we have to control our borders and airspace,” said Matti Vanhanen, discussing NATO and security policy with Norway’s Prime…
THE WATCH STAFF Members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) sharpened their skills during recent joint training and exercises with the United States military. The Bahamas and the U.S. are maritime neighbors whose bilateral partnership is essential to regional stability. Three Marines of the RBDF Medical Facility completed the Combat Medical Specialist Course at the Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston’s Medical Education and Training Campus (METC) in Texas. RBDF Petty Officers Charlon Johnson and Laurell Farrington, and Leading Seaman Deangelo Bain successfully completed the 16-week intensive course that included emergency medical technician (EMT) training as well as instruction in…
THE WATCH STAFF United States Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. met with Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) leaders in Ottawa to further strengthen the long and unique relationship between the two countries. During the June 8-9, 2022, visit, Brown, pictured, met with his RCAF counterpart, Lt. Gen. Al Meinzinger, and Maj. Gen. Sylvain Ménard, the chief of fighter capability, at National Defence Headquarters. Brown also took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the National War Memorial in the Canadian capitol. The RCAF leaders discussed the strategic importance of the Arctic as well as infrastructure and…