Steffan Watkins 🇨🇦
@steffanwatkins.bsky.social
I'm a writer and research consultant specializing in tracking ships and planes using publicly available information. https://www.patreon.com/SteffanWatkins
Dana Hatherly, “Are There Really More Military Aircraft in the Yukon? Observers Weigh In,” CBC News, August 3, 2026, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Are there really more military aircraft in the Yukon? Observers weigh in | CBC News
From F-35 fighter jets to Black Hawk tactical helicopters and massive Globemaster planes, American and Canadian military aircraft are regularly coming and going from the Whitehorse international airpo...
cbc.ca
Why didn’t we hear about Colonel Turrene’s (well deserved) award? Well, it exposes the absolute limits of “splitting hairs” when it comes to Ottawa admitting our involvement in the U.S. - Israeli war on Iran. The 🇨🇦 public should know Full details ⬇️ open.substack.com/pub/thestate...
A Canadian Colonel was just awarded for potentially saving thousands of lives - why didn't we hear about it?
Colonel David K. Turenne's award exposes the upper limits of “splitting hairs” in terms of Ottawa admitting our involvement in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
open.substack.com
NEW: In the hot debate about fighter jets - what the RCAF currently has isn't really known...until now. Using OSINT and comparing DND data @steffanwatkins.bsky.social and I are giving Canadians an unprecedented audit of what our fleet looks like in 2026 🇨🇦 m.youtube.com/watch?v=OkN9...
RCAF Reality Check: What does Canada's Air Force actually have to work with?
YouTube video by The State of Things with Christy Somos
m.youtube.com
WE'RE LIVE ON YOUTUBE! WE'RE LIVE ON SUBSTACK! www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkN9... Using OSINT and comparing data from the DND, we're giving you an unprecedented audit of what the Royal Canadian Air Force actually has to work with... A collab with @steffanwatkins.bsky.social
RCAF Reality Check: What does Canada's Air Force actually have to work with?
YouTube video by The State of Things with Christy Somos
youtube.com
My open source audit of the Royal Canadian Air Force with @steffanwatkins.bsky.social is LIVE on YouTube and Substack! Check it out: substack.com/@thestateoft...
RCAF REALITY CHECK
In all the chatter about which fighter jet Prime Minister Mark Carney will choose, what the RCAF currently has to work with isn't known - until now.
substack.com
The State of Things with Christy Somos@thestateofthings.bsky.social · last wk.WE'RE LIVE ON YOUTUBE! WE'RE LIVE ON SUBSTACK! www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkN9... Using OSINT and comparing data from the DND, we're giving you an unprecedented audit of what the Royal Canadian Air Force actually has to work with... A collab with @steffanwatkins.bsky.social
TOMORROW - a new series with @steffanwatkins.bsky.social With all the hot debate about which plane and partnership 🇨🇦 PM Mark Carney will choose, not much is known about what the RCAF are currently working with...until now.
Manon Jacob, “Canada Blazes Spark Misleading Claims about Financing of Firefighting Fleets,” AFP Fact Check, July 24, 2026, factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....
Canada blazes spark misleading claims about financing of firefighting fleets
Canada's 2026 wildfire season already scorched an area the size of Belgium, and government critics online have blamed a supposed lack of water bombers, claiming money that could have bought new firefi...
factcheck.afp.com
Christy Somos is the only Canadian journalist I'm aware of who is proactively asking the Canadian Department of National Defence about any CAF casualties in the Middle East, while DND assumes their usual passive media posture and don't tell Canadians anything proactively.
The State of Things with Christy Somos@thestateofthings.bsky.social · 2w ago🇨🇦 DND replied this morning: "We are aware of reports of strikes overnight in the Middle East. All Canadian Armed Forces personnel deployed in the region are currently safe and accounted for."
Elon Musk’s family foundation took Tommy Robinson to Russia, says Musk’s father www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Elon Musk’s family foundation took Tommy Robinson to Russia, says Musk’s father
Errol Musk says far-right activist is ‘a fine young man’ and held meetings with Russian business figures
theguardian.com
“We are aware of reports of strikes in the vicinity of Ali Al Salem Air Base. All CAF personnel deployed in the region are currently safe and accounted for. For operational security reasons we do not discuss assessments of damage or impacts to military facilities.”
The State of Things with Christy Somos@thestateofthings.bsky.social · 4w agoRe: The U.S. and Iran trading intensifying strikes in the last 12+ hours, including claims the IRGC hit targets in Bahrain and the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait: the DND has confirmed to TSOT that all CAF personnel in the region are currently safe and accounted for 🇨🇦
Sikorsky Black Hawk C-FHKS joining RCAF refueler HUSK98 on FIFA World Cup patrol duties for Metro Vancouver. @steffanwatkins.bsky.social
BTW: despite the tension between Ottawa and Washington, the CAF who are on exchange, liaison, embeds etc. with the U.S. military continue to fulfill their duties. For example, the Deputy Commanding General of Operations for the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg is 🇨🇦 Brig.-Gen. Sean French
Christy Somos@christysomos.bsky.social · 2mo agoForgot to mention that on top of two governments I also managed to embarrass myself with a female journo I really admire by asking her about my scooplet. Anyone know how to move to a new country and start a new life under a new name?
I’m just one journalist, who put this together over a few hours while watching the World Cup. Imagine if newsrooms with lots of resources invested in OSINT and stayed on top of this story
Christy Somos@christysomos.bsky.social · 2mo agoBTW: U.S. military bases where CAF personnel may be currently stationed have been hit multiple times in Iranian attacks since the beginning of June. Not a peep from Ottawa, until now. Join me in a little OSINT breakdown of the latest
The State of Things with Christy Somos Canada's lens on national security | extremism | mis/dis-information | global affairs | OSINT
So excited to launch the next chapter of my project - made possible by supporters like you!
The State of Things with Christy Somos@thestateofthings.bsky.social · 2mo ago✨Launch Day✨ The State of Things with Christy Somos
It’s here! 🎙️📝 Thank you @youcaughtscott.com for having me on The North State podcast to talk all things press freedom, govt obfuscation, media accreditation + CANSEC 2026 🪖 (still haven’t heard back from @cadsi.bsky.social btw)
Christy Somos@christysomos.bsky.social · 2mo agoRecording this am with @youcaughtscott.com for The North State podcast - make sure you tune in on Tuesday when it drops! 🎙️📝 We’re talking CANSEC 2026, media accreditation, independent journalism and govt secrecy, obfuscation and restriction on Canada’s free press 🇨🇦
🇬🇧 Three Royal Navy members died when their Merlin HC.4 crashed while training on June 3, 2026. Several publicly knowable details were not in the articles published by the British news media, so I wrote a backgrounder. steffanwatkins.medium.com/creating-the...
Creating the timeline of a fatal helicopter crash from their transmitted data.
Analyzing June 3 Mode-S/MLAT data from Royal Navy Merlin HC.4 “SWORD01"
steffanwatkins.medium.com
The Ontario government paid $23,730,000 USD cash money to Bombardier, and then asked for it back, but that money is nowhere in the 2025 or 2026 Ontario budget. We now know Doug Ford's black budget has at least $30M in it for discretionary spending, how much more is off the books?
Laura Babcock 🇨🇦@laura-babcock.bsky.social · 2mo ago“I find it extraordinary that $30 million could be pulled out of the sofa cushions and found for this plane when we don’t have money for emergency rooms or hospitals.” @steffanwatkins.bsky.social Ford says Gravy Plane scandal is old news. Like hell it is 🔗 youtu.be/L0kww6vuAe4?si… #Onpoli
Mark Carney plays the Trump MAGA card brilliantly in NYC while Doug Ford takes Toronto Island Aiport amid his growing Gravy Plane and FOI Scandals on #FightFord protest weekend! Watch @markevans.bsky.social @steffanwatkins.bsky.social on the OShow! #Cndpoli #Onpoli 🇨🇦 youtu.be/L0kww6vuAe4?si…
THE OSHOW: CARNEY PLAYS TRUMP MAGA CARD, FORD TAKES AIRPORT AMID GRAVY PLANE SCANDAL, NEW PROTESTS!
YouTube video by The OShow with Laura Babcock
youtu.be
I dug into Doug Ford's #GravyPlane docs and went over the parts that seemed important to me. "Receipts show Doug Ford had been in the process of buying this jet since January, at least." steffanwatkins.medium.com/receipts-sho...
Receipts show Doug Ford had been in the process of buying this jet since January, at least.
Specifically 2016 Bombardier Challenger 650 Serial № 6063
steffanwatkins.medium.com
Not every tip off results in the story you think it will. When someone approached me to look at "how the RCMP is reliant on the U.S." for training and intel, what the story actually became was 'how has our federal police force managed whilst being too small and underfunded for the threats we face’
Catch me on CKFR’s “The Early Edition” tomorrow morning 9:35 am est/ 6:35am pst - talking about my story in @thewalrus.ca about Canada’s involvement in the U.S. -Israeli war on Iran 🎧
I confirmed that at least one CENTCOM role is filled by an CAF intelligence liaison officer…so how is it Ottawa can claim they were caught off guard when everyone and their mother was open-source tracking the mass U.S. military mobilization on social media?
Christy Somos@christysomos.bsky.social · 3mo agoMy latest in @thewalrus.ca examines the patchwork obfuscation the government has used to deflect, deny and avoid answering questions about Canada’s role in the U.S. - Israeli war on Iran: thewalrus.ca/ottawa-says-...
🇨🇦⚓️ Royal Canadian Navy Media and Public Awareness Update (Week 18) showing the state of the RCN, and last reported locations of the fleet. Journalists should know at least this much info is publicly available. (24 Page PDF distributed via Patreon) www.patreon.com/posts/rcn-me...
🇨🇦 LGen Steve Boivin, CJOC commander, visited IndoPac. Nobody told Canadians. ✍️ www.patreon.com/posts/lgen-s...
LGen Steve Boivin, CJOC commander, visited IndoPac. Nobody told Canadians. | Steffan Watkins
LGen Steve Boivin, CJOC commander, visited IndoPac. Nobody told Canadians. by Steffan Watkins on Patreon. Join Steffan Watkins's community for exclusive content and updates.
patreon.com
🇨🇦⚓️ Royal Canadian Navy Media and Public Awareness Update (Week 17) showing the state of the RCN, and last reported locations of the fleet. Journalists should know at least this much info is publicly available. (24 Page PDF distributed via Patreon) www.patreon.com/posts/rcn-me...
EXCLUSIVE: DND admits Canadians working in organization responsible for Op. Southern Spear DND acknowledged my previous reporting and admits Canadian personnel are working in SOUTHCOM and JIATF-South, but deny our involvement in Op. Southern Spear itself. My latest: substack.com/@thestateoft...
EXCLUSIVE: DND admits Canadians working in organization responsible for Op. Southern Spear
The DND has acknowledged my reporting and admitted there are Canadian personnel working within USSOUTHCOM and JIATF-South, but deny involvement in Op. Southern Spear itself.
substack.com
I'm very pleased to have been able to work with CBC News on this short about Doug Ford's $28.9M 2016 Bombardier Challenger 650 C-FBBW #C002D5 (Serial № 6063) CBC News, “Tracking down Doug Ford’s $28.9M jet,” YouTube video, April 21, 2026, youtube.com/shorts/LVab1...
Tracking down Doug Ford's $28.9M jet
YouTube video by CBC News
youtube.com
