The Watch

THE WATCH STAFF Sensors allow military forces to see, hear and understand their battlefield environment by producing data related to enemy activities, capabilities and location. A key challenge is how to rapidly process the massive amounts of data into usable information. The United States and United Kingdom recently announced a jointly funded project to automatically process data obtained from sensors and optimize that information for mission success. The project is led by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory, CCDC-Atlantic, and the U.K. Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. It represents a new concept for such research projects…

THE WATCH STAFF The U.S. military is testing wearable technology that could provide early detection of COVID-19. A watch and a ring can detect biometric indicators such as slight changes in skin temperature, the U.S. Department of Defense said in a news release. Military leaders hope the technology, powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, can ensure military readiness. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and Defense Innovation Unit are testing the Rapid Analysis of Threat Exposure, or RATE, technology, which consists of noninvasive wearable devices that provide warning of infection up to 48 hours before a person becomes symptomatic,…

THE WATCH STAFF India reported in September 2020 that it had successfully tested hypersonic technology, becoming only the fourth country in the world to do so. It was already among the small group of nations that possess nuclear weapons, and only the People’s Republic of China, Russia and the United States had previously tested hypersonic weapons. Hypersonic weapons are considered unstoppable because they can travel at least five times the speed of sound and are extremely maneuverable, making them hard to strike down with missiles. A statement from India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) noted that the test demonstrated…

THE WATCH STAFF The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory is developing robotic vehicles that will operate with manned aircraft in contested airspace. The Skyborg program combines autonomous vehicle technology, seamless connectivity and open architecture to suppress enemy defenses and execute other missions, Forbes magazine reported in August 2020. The program’s name apparently derives from the Star Trek television series and refers to a threat so menacing that “resistance is futile.” The Skyborg program represents a radical approach to air warfare. The Air Force describes the program as a low-cost, teamed aircraft that can “thwart adversaries with quick, decisive actions in…

NORAD and USNORTHCOM commander outlines priorities, highlights capabilities  THE WATCH STAFF The United States can expect to see adversaries continue to demonstrate the capability and intent to threaten national interests in this era of renewed power competition, but U.S. Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck said that North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) stand ready to meet those challenges and outpace opponents. “USNORTHCOM’s essential role in defending the nation and supporting federal and international partners will be more vital than ever as the command continues to meet its sacred obligations,” VanHerck said in prepared remarks…

Health organization faces backlash for deference to China Indo-Pacific Defense FORUM With the world watching, a global health body deferred to political pressure from the Chinese Communist Party as Chinese officials tried to obscure the genesis of a worldwide coronavirus pandemic. The controversy surrounding the actions of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the pandemic’s early stages led the United States to initially withdraw from the agency. As investigations continue into the origins of COVID-19 and the WHO’s response, more than 108 million people had been infected and 2.4 million had died worldwide by mid-February 2021. QUESTIONABLE INFLUENCE: While publicly…

U.S. military’s innovative Advanced Battle Management System takes leap forward THE WATCH STAFF A “sci-fi awesome” display of U.S. technical ingenuity and military power and precision has turbocharged development of next-generation warfighting capabilities that promise to redefine homeland defense for the hypersonic age. More than 130 teams from government, industry and every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces gathered in dozens of locations in August and September 2020 to further field test the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), which the U.S. Air Force calls the “backbone of a network-centric approach” to 21st century warfare. During the weeklong exercise, or onramp,…

THE WATCH STAFF A leaked database shows a small company has collected personal data on 2.4 million people worldwide to feed intelligence to the Chinese government, media outlets reported in September 2020. The data collected by Chinese firm Zhenhua Data includes addresses, birthdates, marital status, criminal records and political associations, Forbes magazine reported. It was largely harvested from social media profiles on Twitter, Facebook, Crunchbase, TikTok and LinkedIn. About 20%, however, comes from nonpublic sources. Only part of the database was recovered. It contains profiles of 52,000 U.S. residents, 35,000 Australians, 10,000 Indians, 9,700 Britons and 5,000 Canadians. The data…

Sweden stepped up its defense activities in the Baltic Sea region in August 2020 due to what a high-ranking official called “a deteriorating security situation” as Russia and NATO conducted military operations there. The Swedish Armed Forces said they initiated a “high-readiness action,” pictured, in the southeastern and southern Baltic Sea region due to the “current, extensive military activity.” Sweden is not a NATO member. The military said the goal “is to strengthen maritime surveillance in the Baltic Sea at sea and from the air.” The Baltic News Service reported that four Russian naval ships were detected near Latvian territorial…

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The newly formed U.S. Space Force is deploying troops to a vast new frontier: the Arabian Peninsula. Space Force has a squadron of 20 Airmen stationed at Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base in its first foreign deployment.  The force represents the sixth branch of the U.S. military and the first new military service since the creation of the Air Force in 1947. Future wars may be waged in space, but the Arabian Desert already saw what military experts dub the world’s first space war — the 1991 Desert Storm operation to drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Today,…