12/09/2014: Australia’s Air Task Group (ATG) consisting of six RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornets, an E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft and a KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft continue to support Operation OKRA with missions in Iraq. The ATG comprises around 400 RAAF personnel who have deployed to the…
2012-08-21 By Richard Weitz I have dealt with the bilateral relationship between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. In this piece, I am going to deal with Iraq’s bilateral relationships with the other GCC states. Kuwait Historical factors make Iraq’s relations with GCC member Kuwait especially important. Kuwait’s territorial integrity and sovereignty were…
6/29/12: In mid- June 2012, Second Line of Defense talked with Victor Gervais, a young French researcher who recently published his dissertation on the UAE military. Gervais had just returned from a two-week visit to the UAE when we discussed with him his perspectives on how the UAE leadership was…
6/12/12: We have written about the potential for the new dirigible (M1400) and its innovative sensor integration capabilities on board (Blue Devil 2). But several capabilities of this program leap off of the page. If the program was measured in a realistic manner, for example, ISR delivery equivalencies, this would…
The UAE is in a dangerous neighborhood. With the opening of an air operations center, the UAE seeks to enhance the efficiencies of its combat forces. A key element for the UAE to shape greater capability is to project its air power in the region to deal with various threats…
Key states in the Middle East are increasingly operating under the assumption that Iran will become a nuclear power and are bolstering their defenses to deal with the prospect of an emboldened Iran. In many ways, the UAE is the key state in shaping a comprehensive policy. UAE policy makers…
The video shows the operation of the boom on the new A330 tanker. The boom allows for much more rapid refueling than legacy tankers, greater security in operating the boom in night refueling operations and gives the aircraft an augmented capability to refuel more air platforms at the same time.…
