THE WATCH STAFF U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the United States must urgently focus on developing new warplanes to keep pace with the military modernization undertaken by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The first step toward countering the PRC’s rapid advancements is to retire the Air Force’s outdated aircraft such as the MQ-9 Reaper drone, some C-130s, older tankers and the A-10 Warthog, Kendall said December 4, 2021, at the Reagan National Defense Forum, according to Defense News. “If it doesn’t threaten China, why are we doing it?” Kendall asked during a panel discussion at the annual event…
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THE WATCH STAFF The U.S. Navy is building a facility dedicated to testing unmanned surface and submarine vehicles at its California warfare center in Port Hueneme. “These facilities will be the focal point of Navy learning and experimentation on the capabilities, operations and sustainment of unmanned maritime vehicle prototypes to inform future programs,” Capt. Pete Small, who leads the program office for unmanned maritime systems, said in a statement December 14, 2021, from the Navy Sea Systems Command. Some of the systems destined for Port Hueneme include the Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (XLUUV), as well as the Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MUSV)…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Pentagon intends to work better with private industry to develop high-tech systems and to strengthen relations with allies in the Indo-Pacific region to maintain a competitive edge over the People’s Republic of China (PRC), U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said December 4, 2021. Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California, Austin said recent military activity and aggressive moves by the PRC in the region, including near the self-ruled island of Taiwan, are disturbing. Although the United States is still committed to the long-standing “One China” policy, it is working to bolster Taiwan’s ability to…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The U.S. Navy on December 8, 2021, commissioned the USS Daniel Inouye, named after the long-serving U.S. senator from Hawaii and decorated World War II veteran. Inouye and other Japanese Americans were initially prevented from enlisting for service after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. After the policy was changed, his unit of Japanese American Soldiers became one of the most decorated, with Inouye earning the Medal of Honor and, now, a guided-missile destroyer bearing his name. The military restricted attendance at the event because of COVID-19 mitigation efforts and streamed the ceremony online. Among those in attendance was…
THE WATCH STAFF U.S. Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck made his first trip to Canada as commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and gave a threat assessment to the country’s military leaders that included risks from hypersonic missiles. VanHerck, who heads NORAD and is also commander of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), visited National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa on November 30, 2021 — the day after Russia announced it tested a hypersonic cruise missile. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) reported that VanHerck was candid in speaking about the challenge such missiles pose to NORAD, the binational command tasked with early…
THE WATCH STAFF The Mexican military’s raid on a synthetic drug lab has highlighted the ability of organized crime groups to mass-produce the deadly opioid fentanyl, which increasingly is bound for the United States. At the end of October 2021, Mexican Army and National Guard troops busted the illegal lab — set up in a home in the state of Sinaloa — and seized 118 kilograms (about 260 pounds) of fentanyl, the Armed Forces announced November 4, 2021, according to a November 9 story by the investigative website InSight Crime. This seizure of “pure fentanyl is considered the largest in…
THE WATCH STAFF The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has completed installation of the ballistic-missile tracking Long-Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) at Clear Space Force Station in Alaska. The MDA noted the achievement in a December 6, 2021, ceremony at the base south of Fairbanks. This “marks an extremely important milestone for U.S. homeland defense,” U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Jon A. Hill, director of the MDA, said in an agency news release. “The Long-Range Discrimination Radar has finished construction, and we can now begin the testing phase that will lead to the full operational use of this vital system. LRDR will…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Russia’s navy has successfully tested a prospective hypersonic missile, the military said November 29, 2021. The Defense Ministry said the Adm. Gorshkov frigate in the White Sea launched the Zircon cruise missile, hitting a practice target 400 kilometers (215 nautical miles) away. The launch was the latest in a series of tests of Zircon, which is set to enter service in 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Zircon would be capable of flying at nine times the speed of sound and have a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). Putin has emphasized that its deployment will…
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Cybersecurity researchers say they have uncovered evidence that Belarus has been involved in a hybrid hacking and disinformation campaign against Eastern European NATO members since 2016 that aimed to sow discord in the military alliance, steal confidential information and spy on dissidents. The November 2021 report by the prominent U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant appears to mark the first time Belarus has been blamed in the campaign known as Ghostwriter. European Union members have said they suspected involvement by Belarus’ close ally Russia, and Poland has directly accused Moscow of hacking government officials’ emails and leaking them online.…
THE WATCH STAFF The United States has signed on to an international accord on cyberspace behavior that was established in 2018. Eighty countries have signed the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, a framework for norms and laws for cybersecurity and warfare, according to Axios news. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris made the announcement November 10, 2021, after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. (Pictured: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on November 10, 2021.) The French government began the voluntary initiative, which also counts tech companies — including Microsoft and Google — nonprofits and universities among its signatories.…