The Watch

THE WATCH STAFF The skies above Camp Growl, Queensland, roared with the sound of history in mid-July 2021 as the United States Army conducted the first-ever launch of a Patriot surface-to-air missile in Australia, part of an ongoing demonstration of U.S. forces’ ability to rapidly deploy throughout the Indo-Pacific to counter threats and defend assets. Operating in conjunction with Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel, U.S. Soldiers from the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, destroyed two drones with Patriot missiles, pictured, as part of Talisman Sabre 21, a biennial exercise that involved more than…

THE WATCH STAFF Rare-earth elements (REEs) are 17 similar metals that are critical for many defense systems, including lasers, magnets for motors and laser-guided missiles. They are also key cogs in domestic supply chains because they are used in everything from fluorescent lighting to illuminated computer screens and cancer drugs. Yet the People’s Republic of China (PRC) dominates the global marketplace for REEs because it can separate and purify the raw materials, which creates a supply chain vulnerability the U.S. has vowed to eliminate. To that end, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced a project in mid-July 2021…

THE WATCH STAFF The United States and its allies and partners are fortifying their cyber defenses to detect, deter and counter malicious actors, whether they are ransomware attackers linked to the Russian government or hackers tied to the Chinese Communist Party. Viewed as a national security threat, the breaching of computer networks and systems by state and nonstate hackers has elevated concern among like-minded democracies. The unified and robust response follows costly and disruptive cyber assaults on governments, companies, critical infrastructure, research institutions and other entities worldwide. In a communique issued after their mid-June 2021 summit in Brussels, the heads…

THE WATCH STAFF Defense forces from Mexico and the United States have been honing their communication and air-intercept skills to protect their homelands by tracking simulated suspicious aircraft as they cross national boundaries. Mexico’s National Defense Forces (SEDENA) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD’s) Continental U.S. Region and First Air Force, Air Forces Northern (AFNORTH) participated July 14-15, 2021, in Amalgam Eagle 21, a live-fly exercise. Both countries conducted flights along the U.S.-Mexico border to detect and intercept simulated threats. “The Amalgam Eagle exercise is critical in maintaining air sovereignty across our shared border,” said U.S. Air Force…

NICK ADDE/SEAPOWER MAGAZINE The ramifications of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing are readily apparent to nations whose economies depend on fishing, but the practice also affects the United States’ national security, a panel of experts said August 4 at Sea-Air-Space 2021. The discussion was part of the global maritime exposition sponsored by the Navy League of the United States in National Harbor, Maryland. Whitley Saumweber, who directs the Stephenson Ocean Security Project, described a situation in which 90% of the world’s fish stocks are overfished while demand continues to increase. “This combines with increasing global competition, particularly from China,…

REUTERS United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he is committed to having a constructive relationship with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and working on common challenges as he laid out his vision for ties with Beijing in a July 2021 visit to Singapore. The U.S. has put countering the PRC at the heart of its national security policy for years, and President Joe Biden’s administration has called rivalry with Beijing “the biggest geopolitical test” of this century. While Austin’s speech in Singapore touched on PRC actions the U.S. describes as destabilizing, from Taiwan to the South China Sea,…

THE WATCH STAFF A United States Coast Guard cutter that was damaged by fire in 2020 is back at sea on a monthslong Arctic mission, conducting seafloor mapping and exchanges with maritime allies and partners. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy will transit through the Northwest Passage in September 2021 on a Canadian Arctic route that connects the North Pacific to the North Atlantic, The Seattle Times newspaper reported. The cutter also will travel through the Panama Canal in a circumnavigation of North America. “Healy’s deployment provides opportunities to deepen the Coast Guard’s cooperation and commitment with our Arctic allies…

THE WATCH STAFF As warming trends and rising near-peer competition reinforce the strategic importance of the Arctic, United States military leaders are accelerating efforts to secure communication dominance in the polar region, including through innovative space-based collaboration with a NATO ally. The U.S. Air Force, in partnership with Norway’s Ministry of Defence and Space Norway, will send communications payloads aboard two satellites scheduled to begin orbiting over an area north of the Arctic Circle in late 2022, according to Space Norway. The Norwegian government agency has contracted Northrop Grumman to design and manufacture the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) system,…

THE WATCH STAFF The latest in a series of cross-command experiments tapping into the potency of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to drive proactive decision-making proved another “leap forward” in integrated deterrence, according to theUnited States commander responsible for homeland defense of North America. The third Global Information Dominance Experiment (GIDE 3), held July 8-15, 2021, was a collaboration among U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and all 11 U.S. combatant commands, as well the U.S. Air Force’s Chief Architect Office and the U.S. Defense Department’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC). “By integrating more information from a global network…

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The United States and Western allies formally blamed the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in July 2021 for a massive hack of Microsoft Exchange email server software and asserted that criminal hackers associated with the Chinese government have carried out ransomware and other illicit cyber operations. The announcements were intended as a condemnation of activities a senior U.S. official described as part of a “pattern of irresponsible behavior in cyberspace.” They highlighted the ongoing threat from Chinese hackers even as the U.S. continues its efforts to curb ransomware attacks from Russia-based syndicates that have targeted critical infrastructure.…