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The Coming of MISR to the Fleet: The Perspective of the First Deployed MISR Officer

08/05/2020By Robbin Laird Earlier this year, in a visit with Vice Admiral Miller, the US Navy’s Air Boss, I was introduced to the coming of MISR, or the Maritime ISR Officer. MISR officers are trained as ISR subject matter experts to operate at the fleet or CSG level and to work the sensor fusion for the integratable CVW. According to… Read more »

NATO Focuses on Maritime Unmanned Systems

08/04/2020A recent article published by NATO on July 29, 2020 highlights the growing focus of attention within NATO on maritime remote systems. Michael Brasseur is a naval warfare expert at the US Mission to NATO. This former captain of two warships who has sailed and served all over the world, now works at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Together with… Read more »

Visiting the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC): July 2020

08/03/2020By Robbin Laird The US Navy is in the throes of reworking its capability to prevail in the high-end fight while ensuring its ability to engage in full spectrum crisis management. There is no clearer proof of this judgment than the latest efforts at the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC). Most people know this as TOPGUN and envisage Tom… Read more »

Restored RAAF Mirage III Moves to RAAF Townsville Aviation Heritage Centre

08/02/2020The transit of a restored Mirage III from RAAF Amberley to RAAF Townsville is underway. The Mirage III or the French Lady was a single seat frontline fighter that flew between 1967 and 1987 for the RAAF. It flew at a speed of more than 2,000 kms per hour and was armed with guns, missiles and bombs. The plane was… Read more »

The Coming of CMV-22B to the Fleet: Next Steps

08/01/2020By Robbin Laird In early February of this year, I attended the ceremony unveiling the Navy’s Osprey as the replacement for the C-2 for the logistics support mission. The Osprey seen in the ceremony was the second Osprey delivered to the Navy, as the first one had been delivered to the Navy at Pax River the week before. At that… Read more »

MISR, MINOTAUR and Training for the Maritime Kill Web

07/31/2020When I visited San Diego earlier this year, in my discussion with VADM Miller, he highlighted the importance of the coming of MISR to the fleet. MISR officers are trained as ISR subject matter experts to operate at the fleet or CSG level and to work the sensor fusion for the integratable CVW. According to the Air Boss: “I think… Read more »

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A Small Ship with a Big Impact: The Aussies Work the Integrated Distributed Force

04/23/2020The Arafura Class Offshore Patrol Vessel is the first of the new build platforms. It provides the template with regard to the entire reset of how the Australians are seeking to build out their integrated distributed force. The contours of the new template are in place and can be identified and this report provides an… Download PDF Now »

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Rafale Comes to the Indian Air Force: A Game Changer

07/30/2020By Air Marshal (Retd.) Anil Chopra New Delhi. With war clouds on the Ladakh horizon, Indian Air Force (IAF) has received five Rafale combat jets, arriving at their Ambala airbase… Read more »

Australians, Japanese and Americans Work Trilateral Passage Through Philippine Sea

07/30/2020By Lieutenant Tanalee Smith Australia, Japan and the United States conducted a trilateral passage in the Philippine Sea en route to participate in Exercise Rim of the Pacific (Rimpac) in… Read more »

Misawa Air Base: The USAF and JSADF Cooperation

07/29/2020According to a Japanese Ministry of Defence article published in July 2020, a recent exercise by the USAF and the JASDF was highlighted. Misawa Air Base is the Koku-Jieitai (Japan… Read more »

Maritime Remotes and Maritime Kill Webs: The Case of an Integrated Counter Mine Autonomous System

07/28/2020By Robbin Laird During my recent visits to Jax Navy, Mayport, Fallon Naval Air Station and to North Island Naval Air Station, I had a chance to meet with a… Read more »

Indian Air Modernization Takes a Significant Step Forward: First Rafales Depart France for the Indian Air Force

07/27/2020By Pierre Tran Five Rafales took off July 27 from Mérignac, southwest France, with Indian air force pilots starting a 7,000 km flight to India, with a further five units … Read more »

Navigating the COVID-19 World: Shaping a Way Ahead for the International Fighter Conference 2020

07/27/2020By Robbin Laird I have attended the International Fighter Conference for the past two years in Berlin. I provided several analytical pieces on presentations and discussions at those two events… Read more »

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Airborne Drone Control Proof of Concept Trial

08/07/2020The RAAF has successfully demonstrated its ability to remotely control an unmanned aerial system (UAS) by piloting a Sky Ranger R70 quad-rotor UAS from a C-130J Hercules of 37SQN. Credit:… Read more »

Working with the Dutch Air Force

08/05/2020A Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 conducts bilateral interoperability training with U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles assigned to the 48th Fighter Wing over the North Sea June 19, 2020.… Read more »

26th MEU

08/03/2020Reconnaissance Marines assigned to the Maritime Raid Force, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), refine various mission capabilities during their pre-deployment training program and deployment. The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit is… Read more »