2017-05-17 By Robbin Laird President Trump has come to power at a time when a very flexible force able to insert from the sea and rapidly return to the sea has emerged. This USN-USMC capability has migrated beyond the classic Amphibious Ready Group-Marine Expeditionary Unit (ARG-MEU) into a very flexible…
05/21/2017: U.S. Marines and Sailors forward deployed to the 3rd Marine Division, as part of the forward Unit Deployment Program, participate in a vertical assault off a British MK3 Merlin helicopter on the Island of Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, British MK3 Merlin helicopter May 16, 2017. Marines and…
05/21/2017: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met with Norwegian Defense Minister Ine Soreide at the Pentagon to discuss their countries' alliance, May 17, 2017. 5/15/17 DoD News During a visit to Norway in February of this year, a discussion with the Norwegian defense minister focused on shaping a way ahead with regard to…
05/21/2017: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met with Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist at the Pentagon to discuss their countries' alliance, May 18, 2017. 5/18/17 DoD News With the deployment of F-35s to the UK and then to Estonia and Bulgaria, the Trump Administration is focused clearly on NATO security and defense.…
2017-05-13 By Robbin Laird The RAF is positioning itself for a triple transition. The first transition is from the Tornado to Typhoon. The second is the transition is to a fifth generation enabled air combat force. The third transition is the deployment of F-35s aboard the new Queen Elizabeth class carriers…
05/21/2017: According to several sources, Australia’s largest warships have experienced a propulsion system problem at sea and the Navy and its contractors are working to fix the problem. Australian naval engineers are investigating the problems in the propulsion systems of two Spanish-built warships. The Royal Australian Navy’s US$1.5 billion worth HMAS…
05/20/2017: According to a video and text released by the Australian Department of Defence: The Naval Shipbuilding Plan released on 16 May 2017 outlines the Government’s vision for the Australian naval shipbuilding enterprise and the significant investment required in coming decades. The Australian Government is laying the foundations for an…
2017-05-09 By Robbin Laird The Williams Foundation working closely with the Australian Defence Force has provided a public forum for rethinking how to reshape their defense force to deal with 21st century challenges. This is the sixth Special Report produced in cooperation with Second Line of Defense. The first report looked…
