Further Consolidation of the European Land Weapons Business: KNDS Acquires Texelis

01/31/2025
By Pierre Tran Paris - The French unit of KNDS and Texelis have signed an outline agreement on the acquisition of the builder of powertrains for armored vehicles by the manufacturer of land weapons, KNDS said in a Jan. 29 statement. “On January 29, 2025, KNDS and the shareholders of…

Logistical Support for Distributed Maritime Effects

01/28/2025
By Robbin Laird I am publishing a book later this year forcused on the paradigm shift in maritime operations. For this paradigm shift, the U.S. must get beyond a primary focus on the thirty-year shipbuilding plan. While the U.S. Navy and its allies focus on distributed capital ship operations, there…

An Estonian Perspective on Building European Defence Capability

01/26/2025
By Pierre Tran Paris - The Estonian ambassador, Lembit Uibo, pointed up Jan 21 the need for compromise when ordering weapons from European Union nations, the U.S. and other allies, with the key factors being price, quality and delivery time. There was need for “compromise,” the senior diplomat told the…

“Baltic Sentry”: An Important Place to Start for Accelerating the Paradigm Shift in Maritime Operations

01/23/2025
A recent NATO decision provides a golden opportunity to work an effective approach accelerating the paradigm shift in maritime operations. At a summit of NATO Baltic allies held on 14 January 2025, the Sec Gen of NATO announced the establishment of a new NATO task force. According to a NATO…

Driving Innovation for the Maritime Forces: Keeping up with the Criminal Class

01/20/2025
By Robbin Laird When I was working with the U.S. Coast Guard, more than a decade ago, the Commandant was considering a new acquisition approach. The acquisition approach became known as Deepwater. This is the only comprehensive mutli-domain acquisiton approach which the U.S. has tried to implement in the maritime…

A Paradigm Shift in Shipbuilding

01/15/2025
There is a shift in how the maritime warfighting force is evolving and with that significant elements for a paradigm shift in the maritime force. One aspect of that paradigm shift has been spearheaded by the Danes with their focus on a new generation of modular shipbuilding. That approach is…

The King Stallion at MCAS Yuma

01/14/2025
The King Stallion as the latest major aviation addition to the USMC has come to MCAS Yuma in two major ways. VMX-1, the key Marine Corps operational test squadron, based at MCAS Yuma and they received their first King Stallion last June. This brought together all the key aricraft which…

French Aerospace Industrial Outlook for 2025

01/13/2025
By Pierre Tran Paris - The French aerospace industry was entering 2025 with an “exceptional” geostrategic and political outlook, seeking to respond to strong demand for products and services, while bracing for a gathering storm of U.S. trade tariffs expected from an incoming administration, Guillaume Faury, chairman of Gifas, an…