We have visited Williamtown Airbase in Australia several times in the past and look forward to future visits. In this posting, we highlight recent flight operations from Williamtown Airbase as seen in the slideshow below. The base is transitioning from a Hornet to an F-35 base which certainly can be…
By Richard Weitz In his first public speech on U.S. arms control policy, the newly appointed Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control, Marshall Billingslea, offered more details on the administration’s general approach toward the issue, particularly concerns about “unconstrained” warheads and verification. Billingslea has also been nominated to be the…
By Robbin Laird The USMC has mobile basing in its DNA. With the strategic shift from the Middle Eastern land wars to full spectrum crisis management, an ability to distribute a force but to do so with capabilities which allow it to be integratable is crucial. For the Marines, this…
By Robbin Laird, Williams Foundation Research Fellow Recently, the third and final Air Warfare destroyer, appropriately named HMAS Sydney was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy. This was a very significant moment on many levels for Australia and for its allies in the Asia-Pacific region. For this is not just…
By Robbin Laird Over the past few weeks, I have been discussing with USAF and U.S. Navy officers, how the two services are training to shape greater synergy with regard to the integrated distributed force. The fusing of multiple sensors via a common interactive self-healing web enhances the ability of…
By Robbin Laird With the strategic shift from the land wars to the more fluid battlespace involving peer competitors engaged in full spectrum crisis management with the United States and its allies, one aspect of the change for military forces is how to use lethal force effectively. This comes down…
A key part of the direct defense challenge being faced in Europe today is political warfare with the 21st century authoritarian powers. And a key policy instrument being used by both Russia and China WITHIN European states is disinformation guided by an ability to connect that disinformation with the defense…
One of the challenges facing the future use of the HMAS Canberra is the evolving nature of the threat in the region, which undoubtedly see the evolution in the ship's capability to work with other air and maritime assets to work sea control missions as well as embarkation missions as…