2017-02-02 By Ed Timperlake and Robbin Laird President Trump has made it clear that a key priority in national defense is the defeat of ISIS. We have argued in an earlier piece that victory over ISIS can be conceived as follows: “Cutting the Gordian knot of endless engagement is crucial;…
2017-02-03 Red Flag 17-1 Commanders discuss changes to this exercise with participation from the F-35A. A number of key perspectives are provided throughout, ranging from the key role of the reserves, to the important role of the Wedgetail, to the F-22 squadron having already learned from the Marines with regard to…
2017-02-12 By Robbin Laird Last week, I attended an airpower conference sponsored by the Norwegian Air Force and held in Trondheim, Norway. The title of the conference was about the shaping of a fifth generation air force, but in reality the conference focused on multi-domain integration and defense transformation in the…
2017-02-12 By Richard Weitz The target of North Korea’s ballistic missile test this weekend, though aimed at the Sea of Japan, was President Donald Trump and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who called the launch “absolutely intolerable" and demanded that Pyongyang respect all UN Security Council Resolutions prohibiting such…
2017-02-11 With a successful tour of the Pacific in the books for Secretary of Defense Mattis, and a clear deepening of the relationship of Japan with the United States under the strong leadership of Prime Minister Abe working with President Trump, what can be expected from Prime Mnister Trudeau's meeting…
2017-01-28 The Norwegian Air Force is to have a new Chief of Staff. According to a story published on the Norwegian Ministry of Defence website on January 27, 2017, Brigadier General Tonje Skinnarland was appointed Major General and Chief of the Royal Norwegian Air Force today (CRNORAF). “Skinnarland is an…
2017-01-28 The fifth generation evolution of the USAF is being highlighted as F-35s from Hill and F-22s from Langley are key integrated elements for Red Flag 2017-1. Both are key parts of shaping new capabilities in the contested battlespace and are working with the RAF and the RAAF in incorporating cyber and…
2017-02-03 With all the global discussion about Trump and allies, a key development seems to have been missed -- the reinforcement of the US-Japanese relationship and the arrival of new capabilities for the extended defense of Japan and of U.S. Pacific allies. First, the F-35Bs arrived at Iwakuni earlier this…
