The Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Minnesota (SSN 783) and the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Billings (LCS 15) conducted a bilateral anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training exercise in the Caribbean Sea with the Colombian Navy, February 27-28. USS Minnesota and USS Billings were joined by Colombian Navy submarine ARC Pijao [ … ]
Capacity Building
US Special Operation Forces Civil Affairs Enables WPS Event in El Salvador
Civil Military Support Element (CMSE) El Salvador, a U.S. Special Operations Forces (USSOF) Civil Affairs Team, hosted a Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) conference in Tepecoyo, La Libertad department, El Salvador, on January 27, 2022. Women from various community sectors to include security, education, commercial, and governance attended to engage [ … ]
JTF-Bravo Conducts Humanitarian Assistance Exercise in Belize
U.S. Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM) Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-Bravo) conducted the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise Keel-billed Toucan (KBT) aimed at ensuring maximum disaster readiness, in Ladyville, Belize, January 7-18, 2022, the U.S. Embassy in Belize said in a statement. Some 150 JTF-Bravo service members and U.S. Army helicopters [ … ]
Argentina Sends New Blue Helmet Contingent to Cyprus
On January 24, 2022, Argentine blue helmets, part of the new contingent that will join the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP), departed from Buenos Aires. The contingent, the Argentine Task Force 59, will operate on the Mediterranean island for six months. A total of 268 Argentine Army, Navy, [ … ]
Chilean Satellite Celebrates 10 Years in Space, Doubles Its Operational Capacity
The Chilean Air Force’s (FACh, in Spanish) FASat-Charlie satellite has doubled its projected lifespan by completing 10 years of operation. Launched into orbit on December 16, 2011, the Chilean satellite, built by Airbus Defence and Space, put Chile at the forefront of space presence in Latin America, becoming a milestone [ … ]
Brazilian Army and Embraer Present Early Warning Air Surveillance Radar
The Brazilian Army (EB, in Portuguese) developed, in partnership with the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer, the Saber M200 Vigilante radar. The new technology is a medium-range surveillance radar developed by the Army Technological Center to meet the needs of the Army’s strategic “Anti-Aircraft Defense” project. The first prototype, the newest [ … ]
US Army visits Brazil in search of technological partnership for Security and Defense areas
In mid-January, representatives from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) visited Salvador, in Bahia state, Brazil, to discuss the possibility of cooperation in technological innovation projects with the Brazilian National Service for Industrial Learning (SENAI). DEVCOM-Americas Director Harry DuRette, and Rosa Santoni, director of DEVCOM Technology and Innovation [ … ]
US Carried Out Over 300 Humanitarian Missions in Guatemala in 2021
U.S. Army Reserve and Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-Bravo) military personnel deployed in Guatemala to provide humanitarian assistance carried out more than 300 missions in 2021, through U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)’s Humanitarian Assistance Program, the U.S. Department of Defense indicated in a December 14, 2021 press release. The efforts had [ … ]
New Maritime Joint Command Seeks to Protect Argentine Waters
In early January 2022, the Maritime Joint Command (CCM, in Spanish), under the Argentine Armed Forces’ Joint Chiefs of Staff, initiated its operations. For the first time, the agency brings together the Argentine Army, Navy, and Air Force to combat maritime crimes, such as illegal fishing, and to control the [ … ]
Uruguayan Navy Modernizes Fleet with US Coast Guard Support
[caption id="attachment_54162" align="alignright" width="300"] U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Douglas Schofield, director of Acquisitions (left), and Admiral Jorge Wilson, Uruguayan Navy commander (right), tour the U.S. Coast Guard maintenance facility in Baltimore, during a September 2021 visit. (Photo: U.S. Embassy in Montevideo, Uruguay)[/caption] The Uruguayan Navy initiated a plan to [ … ]
Brazilian Armed Forces Conclude Largest Joint Training
The Brazilian Ministry of Defense (MD, in Portuguese) celebrated the results of the first edition of Joint Exercise Meridian, which culminated on November 14, 2021, with the third phase of the exercise, Meridiano-Ibagé, under the leadership of the Brazilian Army. The objective was to evaluate and support the troops’ joint [ … ]
Brazilian and US Air Forces Meet in Brazil
A U.S. Air Force (USAF) delegation visited Brazil, November 8-10, 2021, to hold an annual bilateral meeting with the Brazilian Air Force (FAB, in Portuguese). Representatives of the Brazilian Air Force General Staff (EMAER, in Portuguese) welcomed U.S. personnel at the Air Force Command in Brasília, Federal District, to discuss [ … ]