U.S. Strategic Command Globally, rogue actors and adversaries are testing the United States and its allies and partners through the proliferation of ballistic and cruise missiles, hypersonic glide vehicles and unmanned aerial systems. The technological advancements of these weapons have ushered in a new threat environment, further underpinning missile defense as key to the security of allied and partner nations. The Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense (JFCC IMD) training directorate and its Joint Ballistic Missile Defense Training and Education Center (JBTEC) serve as a cornerstone, working with allies and partners on critical aspects of missile defense. …
The Watch
THE WATCH STAFF Canada’s renewed commitment to helping protect North America is being borne out by recent news of high-profile military projects. Defence Minister Anita Anand, who has promised announcements of security improvements in conjunction with the United States, said that Ottawa is weighing the possibility of joining the U.S. ballistic-missile defense system, according to a May 10, 2022, online report in Politico. “We are certainly taking a full and comprehensive look at that question as well as what it takes to defend the continent across the board,” Anand, pictured, said in response to an audience question after a speech…
REUTERS The White House on May 4, 2022, announced measures to support quantum technology in the United States while laying out steps to boost cybersecurity to defend against the next generation of supercomputers. The U.S. and other nations are in a race to develop quantum technology, which could fuel advances in artificial intelligence, materials science and chemistry. Quantum computers, a main focus of the effort, can operate millions of times faster than today’s advanced supercomputers. Unlike a classic computer, which performs calculations one at a time, a quantum computer can perform many calculations at the same time. (Pictured: A man…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The U.S. Department of Defense plans to build a mobile nuclear microreactor prototype at the Idaho National Laboratory in eastern Idaho. The department in late April 2021 signed off on the Project Pele plan to build the reactor and reactor fuel outside of Idaho and then assemble and operate the reactor at the lab. The decision follows a 600-page environmental impact statement that includes public comments evaluating alternatives for building and operating a gas-cooled microreactor that could produce 1 to 5 megawatts of power. “Advanced nuclear power has the potential to be a strategic game-changer for the United States,…
THE WATCH STAFF The Canadian Army’s next leader will be a trailblazer when he assumes leadership of the service. Lt. Gen. Jocelyn Paul, pictured, has been chosen to be the Army’s commander and will be the first Indigenous Canadian to serve in that position, the Department of National Defence (DND) announced April 21, 2022. Paul’s appointment was part of what the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) called a “major shakeup” of Canadian Armed Forces leadership as new commanders were also tapped for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). It also comes as Canada takes on the…
THE WATCH STAFF Mexico’s Army is launching an offensive against organized crime to combat a recent wave of violence. The first destination: Tijuana, the border city where the Army sent a Special Forces task force April 26, 2022, to target a specific list of criminals suspected of being behind the violence that claimed more than 120 lives before the end of April, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper. Over the past three years, Tijuana has averaged more than 2,000 homicides per year, and robberies and assaults are also up, according to statistics from the Baja California Attorney General, according to…
THE WATCH STAFF As the commander tasked with protecting North America, U.S. Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck says one threat from potential adversaries particularly worries him: advanced cruise missiles. VanHerck, who heads U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), counted the ways in an April 25, 2022, conversation with the Defense Writers Group. “Conventional cruise missiles or hypersonic cruise missiles, low-radar cross-section cruise missiles, cruise missiles from Russia, cruise missiles from China, potentially other countries. Cruise missiles that can be launched from undersea, from 100 miles-plus off the coast. Cruise missiles from on the…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden says it is barring anti-satellite missile testing by the United States, a move that White House officials say underscores its hopes of establishing new norms for military action in space. The U.S. has sharply criticized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia for conducting anti-satellite missile tests. The issue has taken on greater urgency after Russia in November 2021 launched a missile to destroy a defunct Soviet-era satellite. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, in a speech at Vandenberg Space Force Base on the central coast of California, criticized the…
REUTERS Russia is worried about increased activity of NATO forces in the Arctic and sees risks of “unintended incidents” in the region, said Russia’s ambassador-at-large, Nikolai Korchunov, according to the Russian state-controlled news agency TASS. In March 2022, Finland and Sweden, which are considering joining the NATO alliance, conducted combined NATO military drills. The exercise was long planned, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 added intensity to the war game. Moscow describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special military operation.” “The recent increase in NATO’s activity in the Arctic is a cause for concern. Another large-scale military exercise of the…
THE WATCH STAFF The Canadian military is in the process of launching a space division. The United States’ partner in the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is seeking to establish a space division in 2022 as it further develops its capabilities in the orbital domain. “It makes logical sense for us to look at standing up a Canadian Space Division that basically generates those forces that will then be able to be employed in operations for Army, Air Force, Navy and SOF [Special Operations Forces],” Brig. Gen. Michael Adamson, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) director general for space,…