Modernizing the Egyptian Fleet: Adding the Meko Frigate?

08/13/2018
By defenceWeb Egypt is considering purchasing two Meko A200 frigates from Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as discussions with France’s Naval Group on the acquisition of further Gowind corvettes grinds to a halt over cost concerns. France’s La Tribune late last month reported that the German deal would be worth…

The SCALP Missile for Egypt: The ITAR Barrier

08/11/2018
By defenceWeb France is looking for a way around the United States’ blocking of Scalp cruise missile technology for Egypt, and is exploring the possibility of replacing American components with alternatives so it can deliver the missiles as well as additional Rafale fighters to Egypt. French Defence Minister Florence Parly…

UAV Market Growing: Projected $25 Billion by 2023

08/11/2018
by defenceWeb The global market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, is anticipated to reach $25 billion by the end of 2023, witnessing a compound annual growth rate of 18.2% over the forecast period owing to the significant use of drones in various sectors. This is according to a…

Visiting HMAS Hobart: A Key Building Block in the Remaking of the Royal Australian Navy

08/06/2018
By Robbin Laird During my current trip to Australia, I started with the opportunity to visit the HMAS Hobart, the first Aegis Air Warfare destroyer for the Royal Australian Navy. This was my second visit to Garden Island, and it is always exciting to see the city of Sydney in…

Working Manned-Unmanned Teaming

08/06/2018
By Todd Miller In what seems like a sci-fi movie of only a few years ago, “artificial intelligence empowered, war fighting drones” teamed with manned command and control are shaping up as the path forward. The last few years have seen several manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) initiatives by the USAF and…

Information Warfare and the Authoritarian States: How Best to Respond?

08/05/2018
By Robbin Laird In a new study published by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the authors, Thomas Mahnken, Ross Babbage, and Toshi Yoshihara, look at the challenge posed by the authoritarian states in shaping coercive political strategies and how the liberal democracies might respond to them. They conclude…

RAAF Air Traffic Controllers onboard the HMAS Adelaide During RIMPAC 2018

08/05/2018
During the RIMOAC 2018 exercise, RAAF air traffic controllers enhanced their experiences in managing maritime air traffic onboard HMAS Adelaide. According to a story published by the Australian Navy on August 3, 2018 and written by Stephanie Anderson: Two Air Traffic Control Officers posted to HMAS Adelaide are taking advantage of an…

Adding to the Russian Tool Set: The Role of Russian “Private” Military Contractors

08/04/2018
By Stephen Blank Not a day passes without a fresh revelation of Russian probes against the West somewhere in the world. By now audiences are possibly accustomed to this fact but it remains difficult for elites, ot to mention ordinary citizens, to grasp that Moscow has been waging a war,…