While friendly nations work to prevent dual-use materials from falling into the wrong hands, terrorist groups are jockeying to acquire chemical, biological and radioactive weapons. COVID-19 sounded global alarms about the dangers of pandemic outbreaks, whether the result of animal-to-human transmission or a leak of dangerous materials from a lab terrorists and other adversaries can exploit to make biological weapons. With these challenges in mind, the U.S. Department of Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s Biological Threat Reduction Program, in coordination with United States Central Command, hosted the Regional Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Symposium. More than 75 guests, primarily military and…
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In a remote training ground in central Jordan, multinational special operations forces dashed from an aircraft that had landed on a desert airstrip. Usually lightly equipped, these highly skilled, mobile troops arrived more heavily armed this time. Emerging from the bellies of C-130 aircraft, the U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) added a powerful punch to these quick reaction forces.HIMARS platforms normally rumble on all-terrain wheels to reach launch position. But at Eager Lion 24, the military exercise that engaged forces from 33 countries in May 2024, the missile launchers benefited from rapid insertion on the battlefield by air. …
Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week is an annual event in Tampa, Florida, site of U.S. Special Operations Command Headquarters. SOF Week in May 2024 attracted highly trained troops from dozens of countries to share information, observe the latest in tactics and equipment and build personal and professional relationships with global colleagues. The strong Qatari special operations contingent at SOF Week 2024 included troops who conducted an amphibious combat capabilities demonstration in partnership with counterparts from around the world. Unipath sat down with Qatari Brig. Gen. Salem Shreida, his country’s Senior National Representative to U.S. Central Command, to discuss the importance…
Article and Photos by UNITED STATES AIR FORCES CENTRAL F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Pakistani and U.S. Air Forces softened the ground with a barrage of missiles while attack helicopters carrying Pakistani and U.S. special operations troops infiltrated a terrorist base. Circling overhead, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms delivered targeting coordinates to the attacking forces for a successful completion of the mission. Falcon Talon, a Pakistani-U.S. field training exercise held for the fifth time in June 2024 at Mushaf Air Base in Pakistan, let the forces integrate with one another on operations deemed vital for both countries. In addition to…
When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, security and military officials were confronted with a new challenge very different from liberating a city or hunting down a terrorist group. In response to this new threat, security and health authorities turned their attention to closing gaps between security and health institutions so they could combat epidemics and limit their spread. Just as countries race to shut their borders and scramble to prevent epidemics from recurring, they also prepare in case terrorist groups plan to launch biological attacks to inflict heavy losses and disrupt the global economic system. Consequently, governments are trying…
JORDAN ARMED FORCEs DIRECTORATE OF MILITARY MEDIA The Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army is an essential pillar of the Jordanian national security system and the most important element of the state’s power. For this reason, His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein has given his full attention and care to the Armed Forces from the moment he first assumed his constitutional powers, so that it keeps pace with the times in terms of weaponry and training. The Royal Jordanian Navy’s Royal Boats Command Development Plan was drawn up to meet His Majesty’s vision of creating an advanced, agile, highly effective…
UNIPATH STAFF | Photos by SAUDI ARMED FORCES It’s a chilling scenario: A terrorist organization or malign actor launches aerial drones carrying a deadly payload of chemical weapons targeting not just military installations but also civilian neighborhoods. To prevent such scenarios involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD), United States Central Command has worked shoulder to shoulder with its allies and partners in the Middle East and Central Asia, culminating in May 2024 with the successful conclusion of the Protection Shield military exercise. Held at King Fahd Military City in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, military forces and civilian agencies responded as a…
During the Eager Lion 24 exercise held in Jordan, Unipath interviewed Brig. Gen. Hasan Al-Khalidi of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army General Command. He discussed modern challenges to designing an effective training curriculum for troops under his command. Unipath: How important are joint international exercises like Eager Lion to the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army? Brig. Gen. Hasan: In its training and security strategies, the General Command of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army aims to promote military ties with our partners from friendly and brotherly nations. Eager Lion is one of the most important products of these partnerships that strengthen cooperation…
Article and photos by VIRGINIA NATIONAL GUARD The Tajik Armed Forces enriched its 21-year relationship with U.S. military partners through a series of training events in the first half of 2024 involving engineering, mountain combat, infantry tactics and battlefield communications. At the beginning of 2024, Virginia National Guard Airmen arrived in Tajikistan to conduct an exercise with Tajik combat engineers and troops with experience in explosive ordnance disposal and border protection. The partners focused their training on repairing airfield bomb craters that could prevent aircraft from landing. They also practiced erecting defensive positions should an air base come under attack…
Armies rely on logistical support because it is the artery that feeds military operations. In any operation, these forces tend to be the first troops in and the last forces out. The success of any military operation depends on the flexibility and sustainability of its logistical support network. This network supplies forces with their essential needs from locations close to the theater of operations, as well as alternative locations, in the shortest time. For this reason, armies constantly conduct exercises to test logistics capabilities. Given the importance of this topic, Unipath met with Brig. Gen. Mohammed Al-Samadi, chief of staff…