Remembering Dr. Alain Dupas: Visionary of Space Policy and Exploration

12/01/2025 Dr. Alain Dupas, born on October 11, 1945, in Paris, and passing on June 12, 2022, in Meudon, France, stood as one of Europe’s most influential voices in space policy, technology, and scientific communication. Earning his doctorate from Paris-Sud University in 1997, Dr. Dupas combined rigorous academic training with an unrelenting curiosity about the cosmos. Director of Studies at CNES: For… Read more »

The Kill Web Imperative: A Strategic Analysis of the Paradigm Shift in Combat Pilot Training

11/26/2025 Military aviation stands at a decisive inflection point. For the past two decades, air power development was largely defined by the demands of counterinsurgency and crisis management in the "land wars" of Iraq and Afghanistan. This era has decisively ended, supplanted by a new strategic reality of peer competitors, proliferating multi-domain threats, and a global security environment best described as… Read more »

The Relentless Analyst: A Tribute to Dr. Danny Lam

11/24/2025 By Robbin Laird There was a certain rhythm to the way Danny Lam worked — deliberate, meticulous, unafraid to challenge assumptions. To colleagues at Second Line of Defense, he wasn’t merely another contributor; he was a force, often unpredictable in where his thoughts might go, yet always rooted in clarity, data, and an almost intuitive grasp of where trends were… Read more »

The Mothership Impact

11/19/2025 When defense analysts discuss "hybrid fleets" combining crewed and uncrewed systems, they inadvertently obscure what may be the most significant transformation in naval warfare since the aircraft carrier displaced the battleship. The term "hybrid" suggests simple addition where manned platforms plus unmanned platforms equals enhanced capability. This mathematical metaphor fundamentally misrepresents the revolution actually unfolding across the world's oceans. The… Read more »

Australia’s Janus Policy: The Critical Minerals Contradiction

11/18/2025 By Robbin Laird Australia faces a strategic contradiction that reveals much about the complexities of navigating major power competition in an economically interdependent world. While Canberra signs billions in critical minerals agreements with Washington to counter Chinese dominance, Australian mines majority-owned by Beijing-backed firms continue supplying raw materials vital for China's hypersonic missiles and nuclear programs. This isn't just policy… Read more »

A New Head for the French Armaments Directorate: Major Challenges Ahead

11/14/2025 By Pierre Tran Paris - Patrick Pailloux has been appointed as the head of the Direction Général de l’Armement (DGA), with the senior official taking up Nov. 17 the top job at the arms procurement office, an official notice of the Nov. 10 cabinet meeting said. Pailloux, a former officer of the DGSE foreign intelligence service, will take over from… Read more »