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The Australian F-35 Decision and the German Tornado Replacement Decision

02/17/2019By Robbin Laird Having just returned from my latest trip to Germany to discuss the significant challenge facing Germany in shaping a credible force to provide for its direct defense and to contribute effectively to NATO’s overall collective defense, it is clear that for the near to mid term the Tornado replacement decision is a significant indicator of the way… Read more »

An Update on the Australian C-130J: Plan Jericho and Related Developments

02/16/2019A range of upgrades and modifications have been fitted under Plan Jericho to Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) C-130J Hercules A97-448, providing the RAAF’s Air Mobility Group with a ‘Jericho Demonstrator’ to explore how it will provide air mobility as part of a Fifth-Generation Air Force. Upgrades include the installation of a Ka-Band Satellite Communications (SATCOM) antenna, external fuel tanks… Read more »

The Challenge Facing a German Reset on Direct Defense: The Perspective of Lt. General (Retired) Klaus-Peter Stieglitz

02/16/2019By Robbin Laird I first had the opportunity to meet Lt. General (Retired) Klaus-Peter Stieglitz, a former German Air Chief, last Fall in Berlin at the International Fighter Conference. During my visit to Germany in February 2019, where I was continuing my look at the challenge of building a 21st century approach to the direct defense of Europe, I had… Read more »

The Osprey at 2nd Marine Air Wing: An Update from Colonel Boniface

02/14/2019By Robbin Laird During my visit to 2ndMAW in January 2019, I had a chance to talk with the Commanding Officer of MAG-26, Colonel Boniface. I have had the opportunity to talk with Chris Boniface several times since we first met at the Bold Alligator exercises almost a decade ago. We have published several interviews with him, and we recently… Read more »

The RAF Tornado Returns Home from the Middle East for the Last Time

02/13/2019The last Operation Shader RAF Tornado has left the Middle East for the UK. According to an article published on February 5, 2019 on the UK Ministry of Defence website, after almost 40 years serving the UK on military operations across the world, RAF Tornados have returned home for the last time. First entering service in 1979, the fast jets… Read more »

2nd Marine Wing at Trident Juncture 2018: The Case of MAG-26

02/13/2019By Robbin Laird Last year during my visit to Norway, I had a chance to visit several airbases and talk with a wide variety of Norwegian officers and defense officials. With the return of direct defense challenges to the Nordics, there has been a major shift to recapitalizing the force, introducing mobilization measures and reworking the concepts of operations to… Read more »

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The Return of Direct Defense in Europe: The Challenges for Germany

02/17/2019We have been looking at the strategic shift for the liberal democracies from a primary focus on the land wars in the Middle East to the challenge of dealing with crisis management involving peer competitors who can engage in force-on-force conflict. We have done so both with regard to the Pacific and with regard to… Download PDF Now »