2012-11-21 In a four-part follow up set of interviews, Second Line of Defense is looking at the role and impact of the USS America. Interviews have been conducted with the prospective commander of the ship, the head of amphibious ship building in the USN, a senior USMC general on its role,…
2012-11-21 by Richard Weitz Despite the reformers’ goal of redirecting Russian strategic thought away from fighting the West to winning localized conflicts, Russia’s military doctrine and recent military exercises still identify resisting NATO aggression as a major task of the Russian armed forces. The 2010 Military Doctrine describes NATO’s growing military…
2012-11-21 by Richard Weitz While Iranian missiles are being used in the Gaza strip, and the Israelis are shaping a strategy to deal with them, an update on Iran and its nuclear program is of pressing importance. It is time to put wishful thinking in the corner, and get realistic…
2012-11-20 By Richard Weitz A core goal of the Serdyukov reforms was transitioning the Soviet-era mass mobilization military designed to win another global war with the West into a force optimized to fight local conflicts such as counterinsurgencies as well as participate in peacekeeping operations and counterpiracy and counterterrorist missions. This…
2012-11-20 by Richard Weitz In his first post-election press conference on November 14, President Obama reaffirmed interest in achieving a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear dispute since he believed the “window of opportunity” for a negotiated settlement, though closing, was still open. Obama explained that, “there should be a way…
2012-11-18 by Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Dateline: Yuma, Arizona Later this month the first 2 F-35 Bravos are arriving at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma. As the future home of five F-35 JSF operational squadrons of 16 aircraft each and one operational test and evaluation squadron of eight…
2012-11-18 By Richard Weitz Even with the persistent security tensions, economic cooperation between Russia and South Korea has increased dramatically during the past decade. The commerce involves primarily the exchange of Russian oil and gas in return for ROK machinery and equipment. The South Korean military also purchases some Russian defense…
11/18/12 by Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Dateline Yuma, Arizona Second Line of Defense visited Yuma Arizona this week and the F-35 factory in Fort Worth focusing on the next phase of the F-35 program, standing up an operational squadron. We will have much to write on these events in…
