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 Watch
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.…
REUTERS Germany inaugurated a new space command in July 2021, following the lead of other Western countries amid growing concern over Russian and Chinese military advances in space and a surge in satellite launches. In the past two years, France, the United Kingdom and the United States have established space commands — military bodies with responsibility for space operations — to address what they see as a threat from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia. Military sources see the PRC and Russia as capable of waging war in space and damaging even advanced adversaries. At its summit in…
THE WATCH STAFF The United States commander responsible for homeland defense of North America met with his counterparts in Mexico in July 2021 to foster security cooperation and discuss areas of mutual interest. U.S. Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command, met July 6-8, 2021, with Mexican Defense Secretary Luis Crescencio Sandoval Gonzales and Mexican Secretary of the Navy Adm. Jose Rafael Ojeda Duran in Mexico City . The defense leaders discussed air surveillance cooperation, border security, countering common threats, defense cooperation and the upcoming Mexico International Aerospace Fair,…
THE WATCH staff The United States Department of State has appointed career foreign service officer Karen Grissette to serve as consul general to Bermuda. She will lead a team whose mission is to protect U.S. citizens and deepen the economic and cultural ties between the U.S. and Bermuda. She assumed the post in July 2021. Grissette’s previous roles have included serving as public diplomacy advisor to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. In 2010, she received the U.S. State Department’s Swanee Hunt Award for Advancing Women’s Role in Policy Formulation, highlighting her efforts to promote the rights of women and girls. Another U.S.…
THE WATCH STAFF With the Arctic emerging again as a domain for great power competition, U.S. Special Operations Command North (SOCNORTH) is tasked with providing quick-response deterrence to potential threats to North America. Brig. Gen. Shawn R. Satterfield, commander of SOCNORTH, outlined the challenges of that mission in a July 21, 2021, discussion on Arctic special operations. The presentation was part of a series of distinguished speakers co-hosted by the Royal United Services Institute of Nova Scotia, The Watch magazine and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). SOCNORTH is the special operations component of USNORTHCOM. Satterfield said Canada is a critical mission…
REUTERS Russian spies accused of interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election have spent much of the past two years abusing virtual private networks (VPNs) to target hundreds of organizations worldwide, U.S. and British authorities said in early July. The governments said in a joint advisory that Unit 26165, the arm of Russia’s military spy agency whose officers were indicted for breaking into Democratic Party emails, had been using VPNs and Tor — a privacy-focused network — to conduct “widespread, distributed and anonymized brute-force access attempts against hundreds of government and private sector targets.” The advisory did not identify any…
Voice of America News United States researchers using commercial satellite imagery said the People’s Republic of China (PRC) appears to be significantly expanding the number of launch silos for its arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), raising fears that nuclear weapons will become a new issue of contention between Washington and Beijing. Using images provided by the satellite imaging company Planet, two researchers from the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, discovered the PRC is building 119 silos in the desert of the northwestern province of Gansu. Jeffrey Lewis, one…
The United States government continued to demonstrate its commitment to the security of the Bahamas by donating three high-speed boats and communications equipment to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) to aid interdictions at sea. The U.S. $5.9 million donation in June 2021 further solidified an already robust security relationship. “We’re here celebrating a long and lasting partnership,” U.S. Charge d’Affaires Usha E. Pitts said during a ceremony at the RBDF headquarters at Coral Harbour Base, according to a report by U.S. Embassy Nassau. “Your [Bahamas] security is our security, and vice versa,” she added. “We and the Bahamas have…
THE WATCH staff Even as great power competition brings more focus on Arctic security, analysts say there are ways to avoid potential conflicts involving the United States, its regional allies and Russia. Moscow recently took over as chair of the Arctic Council, whose full members include Canada, Denmark (Greenland and Faroe Islands), Finland, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. The chairmanship rotates every two years. Discussions on the Arctic often focus on military threats to North America, but potential disputes range from natural resources to navigation routes. Then there is Moscow’s view of its role. “Russia sees…