The cold front on the northern tier is heating up: Weapons and Warfare

Apr 02, 2025 at 03:00 AM CDT

Uncover the strategic initiatives, military alliances, and advanced technologies used to protect the Northern Tier, a crucial area. — Image credit: Natochannel

This week, host Ryan Robertson explores the proactive measures taken by the U.S. military alongside its NATO partners to defend the northern tier of the Arctic from the increasing threats posed by Russia and China.

Uncover the strategic initiatives, military alliances, and advanced technologies used to protect this crucial area. Join us to comprehensively examine the Arctic region’s geopolitical dynamics and obstacles.

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Also featured in this episode:

Boeing nabs NGAD deal.
Second carrier moves into the Middle East.
The team puts together a controversial list of the top five Army movies.
Weapon of the Week: Take a ride with Martin Baker.

You can subscribe to the Weapons and Warfare podcast on the platform of your choosing here.

Ryan Robertson is the anchor of the Straight Arrow News video podcast Weapons and Warfare. He wore many hats in his career — from photographer to news director — and firmly believes honest journalism will save our Republic.

Tags: NATO, Military Defense, Military Drills, U.S. military

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[RYAN ROBERTSON]

HELLO AND WELCOME TO WEAPONS AND WARFARE. FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS I’M YOUR HOST RYAN ROBERTSON. AND WELCOME TO APRIL! SPRING IS HERE…ANOTHER WINTER IS BEHIND US…TIME TO GET OUTSIDE AND DO SOME CAMPING! BUT BEFORE I DO…WE SHOULD PROBABLY GET TO THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

WITH THE WORLD’S ATTENTION ON CONFLICTS IN UKRAINE, THE GAZA STRIP AND THE RED SEA, ONE COULD BE FORGIVEN FOR OVERLOOKING RUSSIA AND CHINA’S GROWING INTEREST IN NORTH AMERICA’S NORTHERN TIER. THIS WEEK WE EXAMINE WHY AMERICAN DEFENSE LEADERSHIP IS URGING INVESTMENT IN ARCTIC CAPABILITIES FOR HOMELAND DEFENSE.

DON’T EJECT, EJECT, EJECT JUST YET! IN OUR WEAPON OF THE WEEK WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE MARTIN-BAKER EJECTION SEAT, AN AVIATION BREAKTHROUGH THAT SAVED THOUSANDS OF LIVES AND JUST GOT BETTER.

BUT FIRST, SOME HEADLINES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED.

THE WAIT IS OVER. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP TABBED BOEING TO BUILD THE U.S. AIR FORCE’S MOST SOPHISTICATED FIGHTER JET YET, DUBBED THE F-47. THE NEXT GENERATION AIR DOMINANCE PROGRAM, ALSO KNOWN AS N-GAD WILL REPLACE LOCKHEED MARTIN’S F-22 RAPTOR WITH A CREWED AIRCRAFT BUILT TO ENTER COMBAT ALONGSIDE DRONES. SOMETHING THE AIR FORCE’S DIRECTOR OF FORCE DESIGN, INTEGRATION, AND WARGAMING ADVOCATED FOR AT THIS YEAR’S WARFARE SYMPOSIUM.

[MAJ. GEN. JOSEPH KUNKEL]

“We asked ourselves some hard questions. We said, “Hey, is air superiority dead?” “What does air superiority look like in the future?” “Does the joint force need air superiority?” And what we found is not only in the past, not only in the present but in the future, air superiority matters. The results of this study, well bluntly, what this study told us is we tried a whole bunch of different options and there is no more viable option than NGAD to achieve air superiority in this highly contested environment. But we also found that if we want to be with our joint partners, which we do, we’ve got to achieve air superiority. So past, present, future, it changes the character to fight.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

DESPITE SOME ARTIST RENDERINGS THAT ARE COMMONLY AVAILABLE, THE PLANE’S DESIGN REMAINS A CLOSELY HELD SECRET, BUT WOULD LIKELY INCLUDE STEALTH, ADVANCED SENSORS, AND CUTTING-EDGE ENGINES. NGAD WAS CONCEIVED AS A “FAMILY OF SYSTEMS” CENTERED AROUND A SIXTH-GENERATION FIGHTER TO COUNTER ADVERSARIES LIKE CHINA AND RUSSIA.

THE CARL VINSON CARRIER STRIKE GROUP IS ON ITS WAY TO U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND, WHERE IT’LL TEAM UP WITH THE HARRY S. TRUMAN CARRIER STRIKE GROUP IN THE AREA. THE CARL VINSON IS THE THIRD CARRIER FROM THE WEST COAST TO HEAD TO CENTRAL COMMAND SINCE THE HOUTHIS STARTED THEIR ATTACKS ON COMMERCIAL SHIPPING BACK IN NOVEMBER 2023. IT’S THE LATEST DEVELOPMENT IN THE NEW ADMINISTRATION’S EFFORTS IN THE RED SEA. YOU MIGHT REMEMBER IN MID-MARCH, THE U.S. LAUNCHED STRIKES IN HOUTHI TERRITORY IN YEMEN. FOLLOWING THAT, THE HOUTHIS ANNOUNCED THEY WOULD START TARGETING AMERICAN WARSHIPS IN THE RED SEA. THEY EVEN ATTEMPTED SOME ATTACKS ON THE HARRY S. TRUMAN CARRIER STRIKE GROUP, BUT THOSE EFFORTS DIDN’T PAN OUT.

AND FINALLY, AS THE ARMY GETS READY TO CELEBRATE ITS 250TH BIRTHDAY, AN ARMY HISTORIAN NAMED ‘FURY’, THE 2014 WORLD WAR TWO DRAMA STARRING BRAD PITT, AS ONE OF FIVE MOVIES THAT MOST ACCURATELY PORTRAY U.S. SOLDIERS AND COMBAT OPERATIONS.

DAVE HOGAN, WHO RECENTLY RETIRED AFTER 37 YEARS AT THE U.S. ARMY CENTER FOR MILITARY HISTORY IN WASHINGTON, D.C., ALSO NAMED ‘BLACKHAWK DOWN’, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, COLD MOUNTAIN, AND THE THIN RED LINE, TO HIS LIST.

IN A BIT OF A STUNNER, THE STEVEN SPIELBERG EPIC ‘SAVING PRIVATE RYAN’ WAS NOT INCLUDED. HOGAN ARGUED THAT WHILE THE OMAHA BEACH SCENES ARE REALISTIC, THE FILM FELT LIKE QUOTE “A TYPICAL WORLD WAR II MOVIE.” END QUOTE….LOOKS LIKE OL’ MATT DAMON COULDN’T EARN THIS AFTER ALL.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

WHEN IT COMES TO THE ACTIVITIES OF THE CHINESE AND RUSSIAN MILITARIES, YOUR INITIAL REACTION COULD BE TO AUTOMATICALLY TURN YOUR ATTENTION TO RUSSIA’S ILLEGAL INVASION OF UKRAINE, AND CHINA’S CONSISTENT BOUNDARY PUSHING IN THE INDO PACIFIC. AND WHILE WE’D FORGIVE YOU FOR DOING THAT, LIMITING YOUR FIELD OF VIEW TO THOSE REGIONS WOULD BE A MISTAKE.

THAT’S BECAUSE BOTH COUNTRIES ARE INCREASINGLY INTENT ON DEVELOPING A PRESENCE IN THE ARCTIC. SO MUCH SO THIS DEEPENING COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE WORLD’S SECOND- AND THIRD-LARGEST MILITARIES HAS THE FULL ATTENTION OF THOSE CHARGED WITH DEFENDING NORTH AMERICA’S NORTHERN TIER. AND THAT’S THE SUBJECT OF THIS WEEK’S DEBRIEF.

IN MID-SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR, RUSSIA AND CHINA LAUNCHED “OCEAN-24,” A LARGE-SCALE NAVAL AND AIR EXERCISE THAT SPANNED THE PACIFIC AND ARCTIC OCEANS. IT INVOLVED OVER 400 WARSHIPS, SUBMARINES, AND SUPPORT VESSELS WITH MORE THAN 120 AIRCRAFT AND 90,000 TROOPS.

AND OH YEAH, AROUND THE SAME TIME, NORAD TRACKED FOUR RUSSIAN MILITARY AIRCRAFT ENTERING ALASKA’S AIR DEFENSE IDENTIFICATION ZONE.

[MAJOR GENERAL CHRIS MCKENNA]

“This summer, we had the Alaska Region and myself countering the combined bomber patrol with the Chinese and the Russians conducting a bounce to Ranadier to take a run at the air defense identification zone for Alaska and Canada. And the US were shoulder to shoulder in that deterrent moment, and we were in position for that deterrent moment.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

MAJOR GENERAL CHRIS MCKENNA, THE CANADIAN NORAD REGION COMMANDER, WAS PART OF A PANEL AT THIS YEAR’S AFA WARFARE SYMPOSIUM CALLED NORTHERN TIER DEFENSE, THAT ADDRESSED THE LOOMING THREAT OF RUSSIAN AND CHINESE INCURSIONS IN THE ARCTIC.

[MAJOR GENERAL CHRIS MCKENNA]

“Arctic security, in my view, is economic security, not just for Canada and the US, but for our Euro Atlantic partners, fundamentally economic security. So these are the threats, and this is the context that I sort of live and fight in.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

IN 2018, CHINA DECLARED ITSELF A “NEAR-ARCTIC STATE” AS PART OF ITS STRATEGY TO GAIN INFLUENCE. WE SHOULD NOTE THAT THIS TITLE IS SELF-PROCLAIMED AND NOT OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED BY ARCTIC NATIONS OR INTERNATIONAL BODIES. NONETHELESS, CHINA’S NORTHWARD PUSH APPEARS TO BE PART OF A BROADER STRATEGY TO ASSERT DOMINANCE AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD.

[MAJOR GENERAL JONAS WIKMAN]

“In my mind, I think my biggest concern is this, that we fail to recognize. Is the urge to speed up the pace, to get back on track when it comes to the Arctic, when it comes to invest, invest in our capability, in our capability to operate in Arctic as allied and partners, and fail to really assess the atmosphere in the Arctic. I think that’s the assessment part, and the operational part is, to me, the most important part right now for us.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

FOR MAJOR GENERAL JONAS WIKMAN, CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE SWEDISH AIR FORCE, WHOSE COUNTRY IS ONE OF THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF NATO, THE TIMING OF THEIR INCLUSION IS A CRITICAL FACTOR IN DEFENDING THE NORTHERN TIER FROM RUSSIAN AND CHINESE INCURSIONS.

[MAJOR GENERAL JONAS WIKMAN]

“We also add geography when it comes to to early warning. Early Warning capabilities. I mean, we cover from, I think, 55 to 69 degrees north. That’s, that’s kind of wide area for early warning. We bring in place geography when it comes to bases. We have air bases and we have space port north of the polar circle, and we know how to operate that.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

AND IT’S THAT DIVERSITY OF DEFENSES, FROM THE NORTHERN PACIFIC TO THE NORTHERN ATLANTIC, THAT POTENTIALLY GIVES THE U.S. AND ITS ALLIES AN EDGE IN THE ARCTIC. WHERE RUSSIA AND CHINA GENERALLY OPERATE FROM A SINGLE SYSTEM, THEY, IN TURN, WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH FAR MORE THAN THAT.

[SCOTT GILLOON]

“Now, imagine an adversary having to approach it from, Hey, what is Saab system do? What are the maybe, if there’s, what is it? What is it that this system is going to look like to my to my screen, to my, you know, to the sensing apparatus, they have to approach it from all of us. And I think that’s very, very powerful, not only in terms of kind of the way we generate information or process information, but also the way that we can then attack the problem, because you can’t just get to one of us without bypassing the others, right? And so I think that, again, that that, to me, seems like a great way to collaborate, and just something that you know, again, being the retired guy, love to see kind of that expansion of NATO, bringing Sweden and Finland to the mix.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

IF ALL OF THIS SOUNDS NEW TO YOU, THERE’S A REASON FOR THAT. THE ARCTIC HASN’T BEEN A MAJOR FOCUS FOR U.S. DEFENSE SPENDING IN THE PAST. THIS IS PROBABLY BECAUSE, EXCEPT FOR RUSSIA, MOST COUNTRIES WITH CLAIMS IN THE REGION WERE U.S. ALLIES. BEYOND THAT, CHINA ONLY STARTED DEVELOPING ITS ARCTIC STRATEGY IN THE LAST SIX YEARS.

WHILE THERE’S NO DENYING THE GLOBAL POLITICS IN THE ARCTIC ARE SHIFTING, ESPECIALLY AS CLIMATE CHANGE IS MAKING THE WATERS EASIER TO NAVIGATE, IT MIGHT FEEL LIKE THE U.S. IS FALLING BEHIND IN ARCTIC POLICY, BUT THAT’S A PERCEPTION THAT COULD SOON BE CHANGING. ESPECIALLY AS, AT LEAST FOR NOW, NATO CONTINUES STRENGTHENING ITS DEFENSE PLANS IN THE REGION.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

EJECT. EJECT. EJECT.

IT’S THE LAST THING ANYONE STRAPPED INTO A FAST MOVER WANTS TO HEAR. BUT IF THE MOMENT COMES, AND THE DECISION IS MADE, THERE’S ONE MANUFACTURER PILOT AND PASSENGER WILL LIKELY HOPE THEY’RE STRAPPED INTO, MARTIN BAKER. AND THAT’S WHY THEY’RE THE SUBJECT OF OUR WEAPON OF THE WEEK.

FOR 80 YEARS, THE NAME MARTIN BAKER WAS ONE AIR CREWS COULD COUNT ON IF THINGS WENT WRONG.

[STEVE ROBERTS]

“Since 1945 we’re proud to have recorded 7777 injections lives saved, to date, of which 3600 are US aviators, life saved the US government Air Force, Navy. Marines is our biggest customer. Numerically, we have about 3000 seats in the US Navy and 2300 seats with the US efforts.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

IN THE EIGHT DECADES SINCE THIS ENGLISH-BASED COMPANY GOT INTO THE EJECTION SEAT BUSINESS, THE EXPECTATION OF WHAT AN EJECTION SEAT CAN DELIVER CHANGED RIGHT ALONG WITH THE AIRCRAFT IT FLIES IN.

IN ITS EARLIEST ITERATIONS, IT WAS ALL ABOUT SURVIVING THE EJECTION. NOW, STEVE ROBERTS, HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOR MARTIN BAKER, SAYS THAT’S NOT ENOUGH.

[STEVE ROBERTS]

“It’s about getting the pilot back in the fight, so escape an evasion, and they’ve now assigned a degree of risk. They’re trying to make sure that there is a 5% risk of injury. Legacy seats in the past would have had a much higher risk of injury.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

LIKE ANY OTHER ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING FIRM, MARTIN BAKER CONTINUES TO PUSH FOR THE KIND OF INNOVATION THAT WILL CONTINUE TO SHRINK THAT RISK.

[STEVE ROBERTS]

“This is the US 16-E ejection seat developed specifically for the F 35 it pioneered new technology with electronics, with a new parachute, with air bags, we call neck protection device. And again, it allowed a wider range of air crew to be accommodated, and also allowed safe ejection at high speed, and also for a much smaller and much larger range of air crew.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

“I want to kind of double tap on that a little bit, because for the longest time, you know, the ejection seats. The planes themselves were made for a certain certain model of a person. Obviously, things have changed, and so the ejection seat needs to be able to accommodate different body types. How does it do that?”

[STEVE ROBERTS]

“So we do that by the seat to chair. So we have whole seat tilt. So the seat can tilt from 22 degrees to 16 and a half degrees, and the seat bucket moves up by about seven and a half inches. So it’s a combination of for the very large male, the seat will tilt fully back with the bucket fully down. For the very small female, the seat is tilted fully forward with the seat bucket in top position.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

ADD THAT ALL UP, AND IT COMES OUT TO THE SAME PIECE OF EQUIPMENT BEING ABLE TO HANDLE A SIX-FOOT-FIVE AIRMAN GEARED OUT TO 300 POUNDS AND A FOUR-FOOT-ELEVEN AIRMAN WEIGHING AS LITTLE AS 103 POUNDS.

AND ONE QUICK UPDATE TO A NUMBER YOU HEARD EARLIER IN THE STORY.

SINCE OUR VISIT WITH STEVE, THE NUMBER OF LIVES SAVED BY A MARTIN BAKER EJECTION SEAT HAS GROWN BY FOUR TO 7,781. THE LAST THREE HAPPENED DURING A PRACTICE DEMONSTRATION WHEN TWO PATROUILLE DE FRANCE ALPHA JET AIRCRAFT COLLIDED ABOUT 130 EAST OF PARIS. BOTH PILOTS AND A PASSENGER SUCCESSFULLY EJECTED USING MARTIN-BAKER’S F-10-LN SEAT.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

LAST SUMMER WE TOLD YOU ABOUT A DEAL THE U.S. NAVY INKED WITH JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA, AND INDIA TO TAKE ON SOME LONG NEEDED MAINTENANCE, REPAIR, AND OVERHAUL PROJECTS FOR NAVY VESSELS. WELL, NOW WE’RE STARTING TO SEE SOME OF THE RESULTS. AND THAT’S THE SUBJECT OF THIS WEEK’S COMMS CHECK.

THE U-S-N-S WALLY SCHIRRA, A LEWIS AND CLARK-CLASS DRY CARGO SHIP FROM THE MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND, COMPLETED A SEVEN-MONTH OVERHAUL AT HANWHA OCEAN IN SOUTH KOREA LAST MONTH. THE OVERHAUL ADDRESSED HULL CORROSION AND INCLUDED A FULL RUDDER REPLACEMENT. THE SCHIRRA IS PART OF THE U.S. NAVY’S COMBAT LOGISTICS FORCE, PROVIDING ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES TO NAVY SHIPS AT SEA. THIS MARKS THE FIRST LARGE-SCALE MAINTENANCE EFFORT OF A U.S. NAVAL VESSEL IN A SOUTH KOREAN SHIPYARD, ALIGNING WITH THE U.S. NAVY’S STRATEGY OF CONDUCTING SHIP REPAIRS WITHIN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION TO MINIMIZE DOWNTIME AND OPERATIONAL COSTS.

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

OKAY…WE’VE DONE IT AGAIN… WE’VE COME TO THE END OF ANOTHER EPISODE. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SAW AND OR HEARD…PLEASE DO US A FAVOR AND LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR SOCIAL MEDIA FEEDS…WE’RE ON MOST OF THEM.

SO, FOR MY WRAP THIS WEEK… I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF FOLLOWING THE RULES.

BEFORE I GET GOING, I WANT TO PREFACE MY COMMENTS BY SAYING I HAVE NOT ALWAYS BEEN KNOWN TO FOLLOW THE RULES. I WAS RAISED ON STAR WARS AND RAPHAEL WAS MY FAVORITE NINJA TURTLE… SO, I LEARNED TO FOSTER MY INNER REBEL AT A YOUNG AGE.

BUT WITH TIME COMES EXPERIENCE–AND I LEARNED SOME RULES ARE THERE FOR GOOD REASON–AND IT’S BEST FOR ALL INVOLVED IF I JUST FOLLOW THEM.

AND WHILE I’VE NEVER BEEN IN THE MILITARY–I KNOW THAT SAME MANTRA HOLDS TRUE WHEN IT COMES TO RULES THAT DEAL WITH THINGS LIKE OPERATIONAL SECURITY.

THE INDIVIDUAL MAY NOT KNOW ALL THE REASONS WHY A RULE IS THE WAY IT IS–AND THEY DON’T NEED TO–THEY JUST NEED TO FOLLOW IT.

BUT THAT WASN’T THE CASE WHEN A GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS DISCUSSED U-S COMBAT OPERATIONS ON THE SIGNAL MESSAGING APP A FEW WEEKS AGO. AND BY NOW, I’M SURE YOU’VE ALL HEARD THE DETAILS. THE VICE PRESIDENT, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, AND OTHERS IN THE U-S GOVERNMENT WITH TOP SECRET CLEARANCES– WHO SHOULD KNOW BETTER–WERE TALKING ABOUT THE U-S STRIKES AGAINST HOUTHI MILITANTS IN YEMEN…THROUGH AN ENCRYPTED MESSAGING APP AND A JOURNALIST WAS ON THE CHAT AS WELL–ALTHOUGH NO ONE WITH A SECURITY CLEARANCE SEEMED TO NOTICE.

THE WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMED THE TEXT EXCHANGE WAS REAL. AND ACCORDING TO THE D-O-D’S OWN GUIDELINES–APPS LIKE SIGNAL ARE NOT TO BE USED WHEN DISCUSSING SENSITIVE AND CLASSIFIED INTEL. SO, I’M NOT GOING TO PLAY THE BLAME GAME HERE… BECAUSE, PERSONALLY, I THINK THEY’RE ALL TO BLAME.

WHAT STRUCK ME AFTERWARDS, THOUGH, WAS SEVERAL GOP LAWMAKERS SAYING THE INCIDENT WILL LEAD TO NEW PROTOCOLS TO MAKE SURE THIS NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. TO THAT, MY QUESTION IS WHAT MORE NEW PROTOCOLS DO WE NEED?

EVERY ENLISTED SERVICE MEMBER, OFFICER AND D-O-D EMPLOYEE KNOWS NOT TO DISCUSS ANY SENSITIVE OR CLASSIFIED INFORMATION ON ANYTHING OTHER THAN GOVERNMENT-APPROVED DEVICES AND SOFTWARE. IF THEY DON’T FOLLOW THE RULES, THEY FACE SERIOUS PENALTY–UP TO AND INCLUDING INCARCERATION.

SO–AGAIN–THE RULES ARE ALREADY THERE… AND THE PEOPLE IN CHARGE NEED TO FOLLOW THEM. I COULD MAKE A SIMILAR ARGUMENT ABOUT GUN CONTROL IN THIS COUNTRY–WE HAVE PLENTY OF LAWS ON THE BOOKS REGULATING FIREARMS–IMAGINE HOW MANY SHOOTINGS WE COULD STOP IF WE JUST FOLLOWED THE RULES WE ALREADY HAVE.

AS OF RECORDING TIME, I DON’T KNOW WHAT SORT OF PUNISHMENT OR FALLOUT ANY OF THOSE HIGH LEVEL OFFICIALS WILL FACE OR ARE FACING AS A RESULT OF WHAT I’M CALLING THE SIGNAL SNAFU–BUT I DO KNOW IF THE RULES WERE FOLLOWED–I’D BE WRAPPING ON SOMETHING ELSE THIS WEEK.

FOR SENIOR PRODUCER BRETT BAKER, VIDEO EDITOR BRIAN SPENCER, AND GRAPHICS ARTIST DAKOTA PITEO–I’M RYAN ROBERTSON WITH STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS SIGNING OFF.

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