OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT WATCH
FMSO’s newsletter using local-language media to offer international perspectives of the operational environment.
India’s UAV Development Struggles to Take Off
As India has made a push to build up its defense industry, it occasionally allows the armed forces to make acquisitions of weapon systems outside of Indian production venues. Continue reading →
Terrorist Attack in Togo Reveals Turkish Counter-Terrorism Role
The littoral West African country of Togo, along with its neighbor Benin, is a main target of expansion for the al-Qaeda affiliated Group for Supporters of Islam and Muslims (JNIM). Continue reading →
Mexico’s Sheinbaum Launches Plan To Address Security Crisis
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum assumed power in October in the middle of a full-blown security crisis. In just a few weeks, the State of Sinaloa has witnessed hundreds of deaths at the hands of warring factions within the Sinaloa Cartel. Continue reading →
North Korea Tacitly Acknowledges Its Troops Are in Ukraine
The official state-controlled broadcaster, the Korean Central News Agency, carried a North Korean vice foreign minister’s statement on 25 October, marking the first known response by the regime to Western evidence of North Korean troops deploying to the conflict in Ukraine. Continue reading →
Kim Jong Un Speech Previews Military Action To Change Relationship With South Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s recent policy speech to the Kim Jong Un National Defense University, published by theKorean Central News Agency, is likely intended to preview a military action by Pyongyang over the coming year. Continue reading →
Iran Conducts First-Ever Military Exercise With Oman
Despite regional tensions reaching an all-time high, Iran and Oman engaged in their first-ever bilateral military exercise on 30 September. Continue reading →
Iran Concerned About Electronic Devices After Hezbollah Communications Attacks
Iran is concerned about Israel infiltrating its own electronic devices after twin communications attacks in mid-September targeting Hezbollah members in Lebanon killed at least 39 and injured 3,000 people. Continue reading →
Russia To Launch Two Satellites for Iran
While Iran-Russia military trade often makes headlines, the relationship between the two countries continues to expand in numerous ways:[i] Russian Special Forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) train together[ii] while the two governments collude to avoid unilateral sanctions on each other’s industries. Continue reading →
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Exaggerate Missile Success in Israel Attack
On 1 October 2024, Iran launched close to 200 missiles at Israel to avenge the deaths of senior Hamas leader Dr. Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah. Continue reading →
Russia Accused of Interference in Moldovan and Georgian Elections
Election interference allegations against Russia have disrupted Moldova and Georgia’s progress towards EU integration. According to the excerpted article from independent but partially U.S.-funded FRE/RL’s Georgian Service, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili declared that “as the only remaining independent institution,” she would not recognize the election results. Continue reading →
Gabon Shadow Tanker Fleet Transports Sanctioned Russian Oil
Despite international sanctions passed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian oil is still available on the international market. According to the excerpted article from Norwegian news site The Barents Observer, a Gabonese-registered shadow fleet is now moving Russian oil through the Arctic. Continue reading →
Russia Pledges To Boost Support Abroad and Criminalize Russophobia
In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new decree pledging humanitarian support for “people who share our values.” Continue reading →
Russia Continues To Adapt Training, Incorporating Lessons From Ukraine
The accompanying excerpted article from the major Russian daily newspaper Izvestia, discusses how Russia continues to change soldier training based on lessons learned from its special military operation in Ukraine. Continue reading →
China To Cement Strategic Relationship With Peru
China has long held a special interest in Peru, both for its critical mineral endowments and its position in the Pacific. Peru was the first Latin American country to sign a free trade agreement with China and is one of the largest destinations for Chinese investment in Latin America. Continue reading →
Taiwan’s Plan To Deter China With Submarines Faces Scrutiny
Last year Taiwan unveiled its first attack submarine, the Hai Kun. Taiwan’s ruling party and defense officials have pitched the Hai Kun as a critical deterrent to China’s ever-expanding naval capability. Continue reading →
China Blurs Lines Between Military Drills and War
China’s military exercises, which include many incursions into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zones (ADIZ), have begun to blur the lines between military exercises and actual war, according to the first article excerpt, published in the online newspaper Taiwan News. In May 2024, after Taiwan’s newly elected president, Lai Ching-te delivered a pro-independence speech, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched Joint-Sword-2024A, a series of exercises surrounding Taiwan and its outer island territories. Continue reading →
China Concludes Military Drills Near Taiwan
On 14 October, China conducted large-scale military drills, Joint Sword-2024B, around Taiwan and its surrounding islands. These drills expand upon the previous Joint Sword-2024A drills from late May 2024 and serve as a direct response to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s “Double Tenth” speech in Taipei. Continue reading →
German Opinion Divided on Increased Multi-Domain Task Force Capabilities
A U.S. and German pronouncement on 10 July 2024 that the United States will start deploying long-range fires units to Germany in 2026 sparked a sharp Russian rebuke. On 12 July, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, made a statement that involved some thinly veiled nuclear threats. Continue reading →
Tuareg Separatist Militants Form an Alliance Against Junta-Led Governments in Mali and Niger
Since 2021, West African security and political dynamics have deteriorated as a result of coups by military juntas in the region’s three central states—Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Continue reading →
India Considers Implications After the Collapse of the Bangladeshi Government
In early August 2024, protests in Bangladesh resulted in the collapse and resignation of the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Continue reading →
Cartel Internecine Warfare Erupts in the State of Sinaloa
The state of Sinaloa, along Mexico’s Pacific coast, is synonymous with cartels and home to one of the most notorious transnational criminal groups in the country. Continue reading →
Drone Warfare Is Becoming a Common Tactic in Mali
Recent reporting indicates that both the Malian military and Tuareg separatist groups are utilizing drone warfare. Continue reading →
North Korea Reveals Previously Undisclosed Uranium Enrichment Site
North Korean state media is releasing stories at a steady pace highlighting its advancements and intent regarding its illicit nuclear weapons program and associated delivery systems. Continue reading →
FMSO’S MILITARY DIME (M-DIME) RESEARCH PROJECT
FMSO’s Military DIME (M-DIME) Research Project tracks how China and Russia employ instruments of national power to obtain military influence in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and South and Southeast Asia. Within this framework, “military influence” is defined as the ability of a Benefactor country to shape or alter the attitudes, behaviors, and capabilities of actors within—and entities associated with—the armed forces of Recipient countries. The M-DIME framework identifies 12 distinct instruments of national power employed by Benefactor countries to gain military influence in Recipient countries, three for each of the DIME categories.