The Watch

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…

THE WATCH STAFF A mock foreign conflict is being waged across two U.S. states. U.S. Army Special Forces candidates are taking part in a large-scale exercise January 22 to February 4 called Robin Sage, which pits the prospective Green Berets against simulated guerrillas fighting for the fictional nation of “Pineland.” The candidates are students at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School based at Fort Bragg, N.C. Robin Sage, which has been held regularly since 1974, is the final test in their Special Forces Qualification Course. (Pictured: A Special Forces candidate takes part in Robin Sage…

THE WATCH STAFF The U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA) plans to have satellites deployed by 2025 that can identify hypersonic weapons in flight. The satellites will make up the low-Earth orbit (LEO) “tracking layer” of an eventual National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA). The satellites will detect hypersonic threats by the weapons’ heat signatures, said Dr. Derek Tournear, the SDA’s director, during the Schriever Spacepower Forum hosted January 12, 2022, by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. An ultrafast hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) can take advantage of blind spots in current radar networks because — unlike traditional ballistic missiles — it…

THE WATCH STAFF The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has published an Overarching Space Policy that outlines how the alliance will act in the orbital domain — including its response to attacks on member assets. The document released January 17, 2022, expands on a 2019 classified NATO space policy and a communique released in 2021 that said an attack against one member in space will be considered an attack against all, according to Axios news. There are 30 NATO states, including 1949 founding members Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and United States.…

REUTERS Britain said it would push back at what it casts as attempts by Russia and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to establish national sovereignty over the communications arteries and emerging technologies that will shape the 21st century. Britain depicts the PRC and Russia as strategic rivals whose rush for control of some major technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and microprocessor design could threaten both Western security and a relatively free internet. “China and Russia continue to advocate for greater national sovereignty over cyberspace as the answer to security challenges,” according to Britain’s new National Cyber Strategy.…

REUTERS Finland has chosen U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighters to replace aging F/A-18 combat jets and plans to order 64 planes with weapons systems in a U.S. $9.4 billion deal, the government said in December 2021. The purchase is expected to increase Finland’s defense cooperation with allies Norway and the United States, experts said. “When comparing military performance, the F-35 best met our needs,” Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen told a news conference. Military aircraft manufacturers have been vying for the deal since late 2015, when the Finnish Ministry of Defence began the search for a jet to replace…