Australia Re-Sets Its Defense Policy: The Defence White Paper 2016 Looks Beyond the Platform Shopping List

02/28/2016
2016-02-26 By Robbin Laird The Australian government has recently released a new Defense White Paper along with two accompanying documents, a defense industrial policy statement as well as defense integrated investment program. Together, these documents express the concern with the dynamics of change in the region and beyond, and Australia’s’…

The USAF Thinks About the Wolfpack: The Renorming of Airpower

02/27/2016
2016-02-24  Recently, Defense News reported cutting edge thinking from the USAF in which manned aircraft flew with unmanned aircraft to shape a joint mission. AFRL, working with the Air Force’s test pilot school, has already demonstrated that this concept of teaming a manned with an unmanned aircraft is possible in a…

Norway, the High North, and Energy Security

02/27/2016
2016-02-26 By Robbin Laird Yesterday at the Atlantic Council in Washington DC, Tord Lien, Norway’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy presented his assessment of Norway, the High North and European Energy Security. Because he is neither the Foreign nor the Defense Minister, his discussion of security was limited to discussing…

Russian Words: Do They Matter?

02/26/2016
2016-02-22 By Richard Weitz The last few months have seen the release of several documents, interviews, and speeches that provide revealing insights into the Kremlin’s worldview. At the end of December, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new National Security Strategy. The Russian president is required to issue a revised…

Remembering the Real “Master and Commander”: Lord Thomas Cochrane

02/25/2016
2016-02-21 By Kenneth Maxwell Lord Thomas Cochrane after founding the Chilean navy, and guaranteeing the independence of Chile by audacious naval action along the Pacific coast, was invited in 1823 by D. Pedro, the son of the Portuguese monarch, who had declared the independence of Brazil from Portugal, to command the new Brazilian navy with the rank…