THE WATCH STAFF As the demand for the United States military to deploy hypersonic missiles intensifies, a report recommends the Air Force work more closely with the Army, Navy and Department of Defense (DOD) to get development of its AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) completed. The report, released by the Pentagon’s office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), said the Air Force should work with the other services and DOD to “identify and leverage common best practices, test corridors and infrastructure, test data management and analyses, and modeling and simulation capability.” The Air Force planned to deploy…
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THE WATCH STAFF The military command with a mission to modernize the U.S. Army has launched a webpage to call attention to its achievements. The online 2021 Year in Review from the U.S. Army Futures Command (AFC) provides an interactive snapshot of its modernization accomplishments in the past year, which included staging Project Convergence 2021, the largest joint-force experiment in 15 years, according to a January 24, 2022, AFC news release. The AFC’s achievements also included opening the Army Software Factory and making breakthroughs in COVID-19 vaccine research. (Pictured: The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark A.…
THE WATCH STAFF The defense ministers of Canada and Denmark have reaffirmed their cooperation on Arctic issues as the region’s strategic importance continues to grow. The respective ministers, Anita Anand and Trine Bramsen, met virtually January 10, 2022, and emphasized the importance of unity among Arctic allies, according to a news release from the Canadian Department of National Defence. Canada and Denmark are both members of the Arctic Council and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The ministers, pictured, said they are committed to building on their defense relationship, both bilaterally and through NATO, according to the news release. Canada…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS More than 1,000 U.S. military personnel were deployed to hospitals nationwide in mid-January 2022 to assist hospitals struggling with staff shortages because of soaring COVID-19 cases. Many hospitals are facing staffing crunches because infected workers stayed home, and COVID-19 cases rose as the highly contagious omicron variant took over the country. U.S. President Joe Biden announced that six military medical teams were deployed to Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island. Those teams will support Henry Ford Hospital just outside Detroit, University Hospital in Newark, the University of New Mexico hospital in Albuquerque,…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS At some of the world’s most sensitive spots, authorities have installed security screening devices made by a single Chinese company with deep ties to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) military and the highest levels of the ruling Communist Party. The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Europe’s largest ports. Airports from Amsterdam to Athens. NATO’s borders with Russia. All depend on equipment manufactured by Nuctech, which has quickly become the world’s leading company, by revenue, for cargo and vehicle scanners. Nuctech has been frozen out of the United States for years because of national security concerns,…
THE WATCH STAFF SpaceX has been awarded a contract by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to help explore the viability of transporting cargo around the world by heavy rocket. The contract awarded January 14 is worth more than U.S. $102 million and falls under the AFRL’s rocket cargo program. The news was first reported by Aviation Week and the contract listed on the SAM.gov website. The program seeks to take advantage of heavy launch capabilities that SpaceX and other companies have brought to the commercial market, according to a January 20 story by the CNET website. (Pictured: A SpaceX Falcon Heavy…
THE WATCH STAFF The U.S. Air Force’s highest-ranking civilian official said both his service and the U.S. Space Force must act quickly to modernize if they are to counter gains made by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, speaking during a January 19, 2020, “virtual fireside chat” sponsored by the Center for a New American Security, said that while the U.S. military remains the “best in the world,” recent actions by the PRC and other potential adversaries have dented its “presumption of superiority,” according to an Air Force news release. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd…
THE WATCH STAFF The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is in the midst of its largest shipbuilding period since World War II in an expansion the service’s commandant called crucial for Arctic operations. Adm. Karl Schultz, speaking at the Surface Navy Association symposium January 12, 2022, said the service will christen its 10th national security cutter in May, USNI News reported January 16. The USCG is building a heavy icebreaker — the first in decades – and is also awaiting its first offshore patrol cutter, which is about 60% complete, Schultz said. Two more will follow. Ultimately, Schultz would like to…
THE WATCH STAFF Canada and the United States are preparing their power grids for cyberattacks as the prospect of a Russian invasion of Ukraine looms. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned January 24, 2022, that the West’s response to Russia’s actions could result in intrusions on critical infrastructure launched by Moscow or its proxies. “We assess that Russia would consider initiating a cyberattack against the Homeland if it perceived a U.S. or NATO response to a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine threatened its long-term national security,” read a DHS intelligence and analysis bulletin sent to law enforcement agencies, ABC…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A top military chief in Sweden said January 14, 2022, that there is increased Russian activity in the Baltic Sea that “deviates from the normal picture,” leading the Scandinavian nation’s military to raise its preparedness. “We have decided to reposition our troops. It does not have to mean an increased threat, but we always want to adapt to the prevailing situation,” Swedish Army Lt. Gen Leif Michael Claesson said. Sweden, which is not part of NATO, has noticed landing craft from Russia’s northern navy entering the Baltic Sea. Claesson, who is the operations manager of the Swedish…