Second Line of Defense has followed the UK thinking, construction, and initial trials and preparation for operations by the new UK carrier, the HMS Queen Elizabeth throughout its life to date. The carrier will have a major impact on UK defense and how the forces will evolve over the next…
By Robbin Laird During my most recent visit to Denmark, I had a chance to visit Royal Danish Air Force bases in the Jutland area. This provided an opportunity to discuss the transition from an F-16 to an F-35 force as well as other changes involving connectivity and decision-making systems…
Recently, the head of the USAF, General Goldfein, underscored the importance of force integration to delivering effective results. Speaking at this year's Air Force Association Air Warfare symposium, General Goldfein argued: “In today’s complex global security environment, it is not the best ideas but who can act on these ideas…
Hundreds of British Army troops have successfully completed an epic road move to Norway, where they will now begin training with allies ahead of NATO Exercise Trident Juncture. Armed Forces Minister Mark Lancaster: “With the Arctic and Far North becoming increasingly militarised, it is now more important than ever for…
Recently, the Norwegian Ministry of Defence created a web page and posted a video explaining to the Norwegian population about the coming Trident Juncture exercise and what the core focus of Norwegian defense unfolding in the current period. What follows is our translation (with apologies to our Norwegian friends) of…
Around 90 US Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit landed at Keflavík on Wednesday (17 October 2018), marking the initial phase of NATO’s Exercise Trident Juncture 2018 in Iceland. The main phase of Trident Juncture will start in Norway on October 25. Arriving by MV-22 Osprey and CH-53 Sea…
by Kenneth Maxwell Dante's "Inferno", the 14th century epic poem, where Hell is nine concentric circles of torment located within the earth. It is the most appropriate analogy for the seriousness of the national dilemmas and the international challenges that confront us To start at the outer circle of Dante's…
By Robbin Laird A recent conference sponsored by our partner Risk Intelligence and hosted by the Atlantic Danish Atlantic Treaty Organization focused on “Threat Perception 2018: The Northern European Perspective.” Programme - Threat Perception In effect, the focus of the conference was the nature of the challenges and ways ahead…
