Transitioning to the F-35: The Aussies and the F-35 Global Enterprise

04/26/2017
2017-04-21 By Robbin Laird During my recent visit to Australia, I had a chance to talk with Wing Commander Steven Bradley, Deputy Director Air Combat Transition Office, which is located in Canberra at Brindabella Park close to the airport. Last year, I visited Williamtown where the initial facilities for the…

Neptune Falcon 2017

04/26/2017
04/26/2017: According to BG Paul W. Tibbets IV, 509th Bomb Wing, in his weekly commander’s message published April 21, 2017: This week our Total Force team has been fully engaged supporting Exercise Neptune Falcon. This multi-day exercise enhances the proficiency of our talented tacticians and planners, Combat Mission Ready aircrews, as…

ASMD Upgrade Program

04/26/2017
04/26/2017: HMAS Parramatta undocking after her Anti-Ship Missile Defence upgrade at BAE Systems Henderson Shipyard, Western Australia. HMAS Parramatta achieved a significant milestone in the Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) upgrade program when she undocked from the BAE Systems Henderson Shipyard in Western Australia on 19 April 2016. The ASMD upgrade program…

F-35s Arrive at RAF Lakenheath: Process Begins of Standing Up a New NATO Capability

04/25/2017
04/25/2017: The video highlights F-35s from Hill AFB, Utah, arrive at Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath, England, for a training deployment And we published an interview from a visit to RAF Lakenheath April 4, 2017 which follows: During my visit to the United Kingdom in March 2017, I had a…

Marines Conduct Hot Load Distributed STOVL Operation with F-35B

04/25/2017
04/25/2017: U.S. Marines with Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) and U.S. Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211 conducted the first independent Distributed STOVL Operation (DSO) by flying all ordnance, personnel, and fuel in on mission aircraft at Yuma, Ariz., April 13,2017. Marines employed the manual drive…

The Challenge of Shaping Future Capabilities Informing the Evolving Force: The Perspective of Air Commodore Chipman

04/24/2017
2017-04-20 By Robbin Laird I first met Air Commodore Chipman when he was leading the initial Plan Jericho movement. He now has become Director General of Capability Planning in the RAAF and is now faced with the challenge of infusing the forward thinking represented by Plan Jericho into actual capabilities.…

The 15th MEU & America ARG Take Next Steps in Deployment Preparation

04/22/2017
2017-04-17 By Todd Miller On board the U.S.S. San Diego all briefings are complete and mission execution is all that remains. Marines of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) gather their steroid induced rucks and pack into the tight confines of the Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV). 3 crew, weapons, support…