L3Harris Australia: Working as Part of Team Luerssen in the New Build OPV

04/01/2020
By Robbin Laird In the first part of this article, I posed the question: What does it mean to be a supplier to such an effort in which the prime contractor is tasked to deliver ongoing capabilities and contribute those capabilities across the force, rather than to provide simply capabilities defined…

The Australian Government and the Australian Arafura Class Offshore Patrol Vessel: The Perspective of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG)

03/31/2020
By Robbin Laird After my visit to Perth and the Henderson Shipyard, I had a chance in Canberra to discuss the new class of OPVs with the senior leadership team in Navy and the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) within the Australian Department of Defence. Participating in the discussion…

Re-Thinking Military Supply Chain Security in the Post-Pandemic World

03/30/2020
By David Beaumont Supply chain security is the concept which encompasses the programs, systems, procedures, technologies and solutions applied to address threats to the supply chain and the consequent threats to economic, social and physical well-being of citizens and organised society. – World Bank, 2009 Deborah Cowen’s book, The deadly life of…

Dassault Plans to Restart Production April 3

03/30/2020
By Pierre Tran Paris - Dassault Aviation, builder of the Rafale fighter jet, plans to re-open April 3. The company is to open nine factories and offices, returning to “minimal” production under strict health conditions in response to the spread of coronavirus across France. The aircraft company posted on its…

Shaping a New Build Platform for an Integratable Force: What is the Role Then for Suppliers?

03/30/2020
By Robbin Laird I have focused in recent months on the shaping of the integrated distributed force as the core outcome of shaping a sixth-generation force. At the heart of being able to do so is to have C2/ISR systems operating on platforms which allow for synergy management, or the…

Crafting Tron Warfare Capabilities for the Integrated Distributed Force

03/30/2020
By Andrew McLaughlin When introducing a new capability, a major factor in its success – or otherwise – is its ability to be successfully integrated with other capabilities.   This has become particularly crucial with the plethora of increasingly capable and expensive new generation capabilities coming on board, each of which may have multiple sensors which generate huge amounts of…

Aussie Politicians Get to Experience LIfe on Deployment

03/29/2020
By Captain Jarrad Baldwin Three Australian politicians recently experienced what life is like for deployed Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel in the Middle East region (MER). Federal Member of Parliament James Stevens and Senators Hollie Hughes and David Van participated in the ADF Parliamentary Program (ADFPP), visiting the main ADF…

USNS Comfort Departs Norfolk In Support of U.S. Coronavirus Response

03/28/2020
NORFOLK, Va. (March 28, 2020) The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) departs Naval Station Norfolk, Va. March 28, 2020. Comfort is deploying in support of the nation’s COVID-19 response efforts and will serve as a referral hospital for non-COVID-19 patients currently admitted to shore-based hospitals. This…