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The Next Phase of the Xi Era: China’s Strategic Shift in a World in Flux

03/23/2023By Robbin Laird The recently concluded Party Congress in Communist China has both consolidated Xi’s control of the Chinese system and turned the country further from its earlier legacy of global engagement built on its powerful export engine. According to my colleague, Dr. Harald Malmgren, Chinese policy under Xi has taken a significant strategic turn in its economy and with… Read more »

MARSOC and 2nd MLG Prepare for the Entrance of the CH-53K Into the Fleet

03/21/2023By Sgt. Jesula Jeanlouis CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Marine Forces Special Operations Command’s Paraloft personnel teamed up with 2nd Marine Logistics Group’s Air Delivery Platoon to evaluate the secondary mission capabilities of the CH-53K King Stallion helicopter, Oct. 25 – Nov. 3, 2022. This evaluation included day and night aerial cargo delivery, low-level static line parachute operations, and military freefall… Read more »

Building and Operating a Hybrid Fleet in the Pacific: A Key Area for U.S. Navy and RAN Cooperation

03/16/2023By George Galdorisi The USN’s commitment to a future fleet comprised of as many as 150 unmanned maritime systems did not instantly materialize, and it is worth examining this journey. This is due to the fact that the ADF and RAN will likely have to socialize such a change in the composition of Australia’s Navy over time and in much… Read more »

Dassault Report: March 2023

03/10/2023By Pierre Tran Paris - Dassault Aviation could raise production of the Rafale to three fighter jets per month, if the aircraft company won export orders, executive chairman Eric Trappier told March 9 a news conference. Dassault could “ramp up” to just over three Rafale per month if foreign nations opted for the French fighter, he told a news conference… Read more »

The Marine Corps Works its Way Ahead: The Perspective of Lt. Gen. Brian Cavanaugh

03/08/2023By Robbin Laird I had a chance to meet with Lt. Gen. Brian Cavanaugh at his office in Norfolk on Friday 24, 2023. He is Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic; Commander, Marine Forces Command; and Commander, Marine Forces Northern Command. According to the official information regarding these two commands under “one commander and one staff”: FMFLANT/MARFORCOM MISSION Commander, Marine… Read more »

A Mission-Kitable Aircraft for Kill Web Operations: Colonel Marvel Discusses the Way Ahead with the Osprey

02/24/2023By Robbin Laird I first encountered the Osprey in 2007 in a visit to MAG-26 at New River. In that discussion with Marines, we focused on how what was referred to me early on, as the Osprey Nation, was stood up and shaped a core group of combat warriors who brought such an innovative plane into combat and reshaped really… Read more »

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The Australian Defence Force Faces Its Future in the Direct Defense of Australia

10/11/2022With the looming defence strategic review launched by the new Labour government, the Williams Foundation seminar held on September 28, 2022 looked at the challenges facing the ADF and the nation in shaping a defence policy shaped not by a peacetime mindset but one attuned to a global order in conflict. Download PDF Now »

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Distributed Operations and Logistics in the Pacific: How to Shape a Way Ahead for the Fleet

02/23/2023Recently, the PACFLEET Commander, Admiral Paparo, provided the keynote address at the WEST 2023 conference held in San Diego from February 14 through 16 2023. That presentation provides his perspective… Read more »

Maritime USVs, UAVs and Reshaping ISR/C2: A Discussion with Lt. General (Retired) Steve Rudder

02/22/2023By Robbin Laird To deal with the challenges in the Pacific, the United States has and will continue to have a significant shortfall in core platforms to implement a classic… Read more »

An Update on French Arms Exports: February 2023

02/21/2023By Pierre Tran Paris – Close U.S. scrutiny of arms exports, Franco-German cooperation, and how the French procurement office is short changed are among areas considered in a report on… Read more »

The French Mistral: The Case of the Russian Sale and Its Aftermath

02/16/2023By Pierre Tran Paris – France took a financial hit of €409 million ($440 million) as a result of its 2015 cancellation of the sale of two helicopter carriers to… Read more »

The USCG in Pacific Defense: Let Us Support Them This Time

02/09/2023by Robbin Laird I was fascinated to read an interview with the USCG Pacific Commander which was published by The Wall Street Journal. In an article by Mike Cherney, we… Read more »

The Impact of the War in Ukraine on Poland

01/31/2023By Robbin Laird The impact of the war on the European front-line states is very significant. It also one of the most underreported aspects of the dynamics of change within… Read more »

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JAGM Integration

02/17/2023U.S. Marines with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), load and fire an AGM-179 Joint Air-to-Ground Missile (JAGM) in support of… Read more »

Recovering the NASA Artemis I Orion Spacecraft

02/15/2023Amphibious transport dock USS Portland (LPD27) recovers the NASA Orion spacecraft, Dec. 11, 2022. Portland, along with Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8), operated in U.S. 3rd Fleet… Read more »

Red Flag-Rescue

02/13/2023Red Flag-Rescue is a joint exercise that involves other service branches as well as partner nations and is the Department of Defense’s premier combat search and rescue exercise held twice… Read more »

Silent Wolverine

02/10/2023Exercise Silent Wolverine is a U.S.-led, combined training exercise that tests Ford-class aircraft carrier capabilities through integrated high-end naval warfare scenarios alongside participating allies in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. 11.08.2022… Read more »

Exercise ARDENT CROSSBOW

02/08/2023Exercise ARDENT CROSSBOW is the first time the 633d Air Base Wing is conducting agile combat support as an Air Base Squadron as part of Air Combat Command’s effort to… Read more »

Exercise Keen Sword 2023: Overview

02/03/2023Exercise Keen Sword 23 enhanced regional security, stability, and prosperity through multilateral cooperation and collaboration across the Indo-Pacific region from Nov. 11 – 20, 2022. Keen Sword is a biennial… Read more »

HMLA-775

02/01/2023U.S. Marines with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 775, Marine Aircraft Group 41, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, conduct a live fire exercise over Camp Pendleton, California, Oct. 27, 2022. HMLA-775… Read more »

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The Second Line of Defense team provides high quality publications with regard to key global strategic developments. You can purchase these here or on a number of booksellers as well, such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

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Devil Ray USV in Medical Evacuation Training Scenario

03/12/2023U.S. Navy Sailors simulate a ship-to-shore patient transfer using a MARTAC T-38 Devil Ray unmanned surface vessel (USV) in Aqaba, Jordan, March 9, 2023, during International Maritime Exercise 2023. The… Read more »