10/20/2011 By Richard Weitz China and Russia have the world’s two most powerful militaries after that of the United States. China is undertaking perhaps the most comprehensive military modernization program in the world today, while Russia still has approximately as much nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons potential as the United…
10/20/2011 Second Line of Defense recently visited Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1 (MAWTS) to hear first hand the effort to shape the F-35 transition. We also visited the construction team re-building Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and will report on the changes being made to operate the F-35Bs…
The Aegis Enabler 10/19/2011 - Historically, the Aegis missile defense system was inextricably intertwined with the Carrier Battle Group. It remains a key element of the CBG, but now deploys separate from the CBG in its missile defense mission. Its permanent deployment at sea in the Pacific to deal with…
10/18/2011 Admiral Scott During the Briefing Aboard the USS Wasp on the F-35B Test Program Credit: SLD Second Line of Defense visited Marine Corps Air Station Yuma during the first week of October and talked with the leadership and workers building the new infrastructure for the F-35 at…
10/17/2011: During the Second Line of Defense visit to the West Coast in late July 2011 to discuss USCG operations and challenges, a wide-ranging discussion was conducted with the San Francisco Sector. Captain Cyndy Stowe, Sector Commander led the discussion. Captain Bliven, Commanders Stuhlreyer, and Tama participated in the round…
By Dr. Richard Weitz 10/17/2011 - One problem created by Vladimir Putin’s return to the Russian presidency is that it might make it harder to negotiate an agreement to reduce Russia’s large stockpile of tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs). No bilateral treaty limits the number of non-strategic nuclear weapons in the…
10/17/2011 - A new approach to Pacific strategy would be built around presence assets, linked together to provide for scalable force. Building presence is not just about what the US does and can do. It is as well about working with allies and partners. But do so requires presence, linkages…
10/15/2011 - By Dr. Robbin Laird and Dr. Alain Dupas The Libyan military operation in Libya is not yet over. It is too early for scholarly and learned lessons. But it is not too early to look at the tactical experiences and how those experiences presage changes to come. We…
