Sentry Staff Analysts have long viewed the Arctic as a successful example of multilateral cooperation, with broad agreement among nations to keep the region conflict-free. However, that ambition now faces increasing challenges as climate change and the shifting geopolitical landscape bring into question who will have access to the region’s resources and how they will be used. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is some 1,500 kilometers south of the Arctic Circle, but it has shown interest in playing a major role in the region’s development, largely by leveraging its relationship with Russia, which controls about half of the Arctic’s…
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Sentry Staff A joint team of United States Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen and U.S. Space Force Guardians conducted two routine tests of unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) in June 2024. Both launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the tests — named Glory Trip (GT)-249 (June 4) and GT-250 (June 6) — sent the missiles about 6,750 kilometers to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s (USASMDC) Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site (RTS) in the Marshall Islands’ Kwajalein Atoll. Each missile was equipped with one re-entry vehicle. The ICBM community, including the…
Sentry Staff Faced with increasing aggression from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Philippines is turning its attention to this and other outside threats by bolstering collaborations with Allies and Partners to enhance external defenses. Philippine and United States military leaders have identified nine sites where rotating batches of U.S. forces can deploy and preposition their weapons and equipment. In September 2023, Australia and the Philippines upgraded their bilateral ties to a strategic partnership, which includes an annual meeting of defense ministers to address rising security concerns. In April 2024, leaders from Japan, the Philippines and the U.S. held…
Sentry Staff The United States Air Force and international Allies and Partners successfully completed a Bomber Task Force deployment aimed at strengthening integration and combat readiness. Four U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers assigned to the 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, along with support personnel, deployed for Bomber Task Force 24-3 (BTF 24-3) in late May 2024 at Royal Air Force Fairford, United Kingdom, where they began a series of exercises in the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command areas of responsibility. Nations participating in BTF 24-3included Bahrain, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Morocco, Norway, Poland, Qatar,…
Sentry Staff Senior Republic of Korea and United States defense officials recently held their third meeting on developing guidelines to strengthen their response to North Korea’s nuclear threats. The Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) met in June 2024 in Seoul to review principles and procedures for the alliance to maintain and strengthen a credible and effective nuclear deterrence policy and posture, according to a joint statement. Cho Chang-rae, South Korea’s deputy minister for national defense policy, and Vipin Narang, U.S. acting assistant secretary of defense for space policy, co-chaired the meeting. Officials from the South Korean National Security Office, U.S. National…
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