It was the biggest single offload of illegal drugs ever for the U.S. Coast Guard — dozens of Guardsmen hefting hundreds of plastic-wrapped bales across the decks of their ship — but it marked the culmination of 19 separate interdictions over five weeks on two oceans. The Coast Guard cutter Hamilton docked at the port in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on August 25 and delivered a 38-ton cargo of contraband collected through its own operations and those of a dozen other units from the Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and international partners. The agencies work together through…
The Watch
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) received its sixth and final Arctic Offshore Patrol Vehicle (AOPV) in August, completing a phase of an ambitious retooling of its maritime force. His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Robert Hampton Gray is the latest AOPV, which since the first ship entered service in 2021, has participated in international missions like Operation Caribbe to stem drug shipments through the Caribbean Sea. AOPVs, equipped for long voyages in harsh Arctic conditions, also have circumnavigated North America and deployed to Antarctica, according to a Canadian Department of National Defence news release. The AOPVs are “ice-capable patrol ships designed…
The Air Force Reserve’s 302nd Airlift Wing (AW), based at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado, provided aerial firefighting support against fires in the state in August 2025. The 302nd AW’s C-130H Hercules aircraft are equipped with the U.S. Forest Service-owned Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS), which are refilled with fire retardant at the Colorado Springs Airtanker Base, just outside the Colorado Springs Airport, south of the base. At the request of the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, the 302nd AW launched a MAFFS-equipped C-130 on August 9, with five drops totaling 55,157 liters of retardant…
The Svalbard archipelago, containing nine principal islands, lies well north of the Arctic Circle and nearly 1,000 kilometers north of Tromsø, Norway’s largest northern city. The island’s population of about 3,000 mainly works in trapping and coal mining. In the summer, tourists come by boat. For much of its history, until a 1920 treaty guaranteed mining rights to several countries, Svalbard was an isolated place in an extremely harsh climate, far from geopolitical concerns. That is changing. In the past several years, Russia — which has treaty rights to Svalbard — has acted in an increasingly provocative manner. In 2022, Russian…
The U.S. Army is outfitting troops with the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team with the latest technology to surveil the Mexico-U.S. border and alert U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents of illegal border crossings and drug smugglers. From high-tech headwear and a force reorganization designed to help Soldiers move through rough, unfamiliar terrain to tiny drones that can spot illegal activity, the troops are learning to operate the new equipment. The Stryker Brigade Combat Team, also known as the Mountain Warriors, is based in Fort Carson, Colorado. About 2,400 brigade troops arrived at the southern border in March to secure…
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) announced in August 2025 that it would spend about $28 million to outfit its Halifax-class frigates with advanced counter-drone and surveillance technology to adapt the workhorse naval ships to rapidly changing technological warfare and increased risk in Canada’s extensive Arctic and maritime domains. The six state-of-the-art uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) will enhance the RCN’s ability to conduct long-range surveillance and targeting operations and achieve domain awareness of the 160,000 kilometers of coastline in its Arctic Archipelago. Initial operational capability for the Class 2 UAS systems is scheduled for 2028 and anticipated to be fully operational…
The Bahamas Military and Maritime Academy (BMMA), partnering with members of the Rhode Island National Guard (RING), held its first Common Faculty Development-Instructor Course (CFD-IC) August 4-15. The course was designed to improve instructional methods, strengthen curriculum delivery and promote adult learning. The program brought together 16 participants and seven observers from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) and BMMA faculty, as well as three RING course facilitators. Attendees experienced more than 80 instructional hours from group and individual presentations. The course facilitators from RING — Sergeants 1ST Class Timothy Baker and Ryan Gilligan, and Staff Sgt. Nicodemus Manzotti —…
U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers traveled to Iceland in August 2025, the fifth Bomber Task Force Europe deployment of the year. The bombers, from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, then were escorted to the Ørland Air Base in Norway on August 9 by Spanish Air and Space Force warplanes and deployed on their first air security mission in the Nordic country. The three bombers from the 345th Bomb Squadron arrived to integrate with NATO allies for advanced training in warfighting capabilities and readiness. The U.S. bombers (nicknamed BONES) were escorted by Spanish Air and Space Force EF/A-18M Hornets operating…
The United States Coast Guard warned recently of increased activity from Chinese research vessels in the U.S. Arctic. The Coast Guard detected and responded to two of the vessels operating in the U.S. Arctic and was monitoring an additional three such vessels in or near those waters, an August 8, 2025, news release said. On August 5, a C-130J Super Hercules military transport aircraft from Air Station Kodiak responded to Chinese research vessels Ji Di and the Zhong Shan Da Xue Ji Di, which were traveling northeast in the Bering Sea. On August 6, crew members aboard the Coast Guard cutter Waesche again responded…
Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), known as drones, have become an increasing threat since the first attempt to fly an armed drone into the United States Capitol in 2012. Terrorists, organized crime and thrill-seekers now pose a significant danger to government facilities, operations and the U.S. homeland, according to testimony from top officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting in July 2025. The top priority for defense and national security officials is gaining Congressional approval for an extension and strengthening of…