By Pierre Tran Paris - The wars in Ukraine and Gaza have not fueled fresh sales of the Rafale, Eric Trappier, executive chairman of Dassault Aviation, prime contractor for the French-built fighter jet, said Dec. 5. “These two crises are very hard, very sad, (but) there has been no impact,”…
By Robbin Laird Each of the services is seeking ways to distribute their force for survivability and presence, but at the same time working through a joint lens to enhance lethality. But the elephant in the room is sustainability, maintainability, and broader considerations of logistics support. When visiting PACFLEET and…
By Robbin Laird C3 is the key tissue allowing for the shaping of a distributed force which can be integrated to create the desired combat effect. During my November 2023 visit to MAWTS-1, I discussed the way ahead in this crucial area with Major Christopher Werner, the C3Department Head. Werner…
By Robbin Laird With the coming of maritime autonomous systems, we are reminded once again about the importance of understanding what a technology does and does not do for an organization. If you keep the structure of the organization the same, you simply wait for the technology to be useful…
By Robbin Laird During my visit to MAWTS-1 in November 2023, I had a chance to talk with Maj Scott Mahaffey, the Department Head for the Ground Combat Department. Maj Mahaffey has been at MAWTS for three years but prior to that has had a number of deployments, including Afghanistan,…
By Pierre Tran Paris - The French air force will fly Nov. 28 four Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Lithuania in a Nato air police mission in the skies of the allied Baltic nations, amidst Ukraine’s concerns on waning Western support for its fight back against Russian forces. The despatch of…
By Robbin Laird I spent parts of March and April this year in Australia and then flew to Hawaii where I visited PACFLEET and PACAF. The Australians and the American commands are both working to build a path to enhance deterrence of China and then augment capabilities which work to…
By Robbin Laird During my November 2023 visit to MAWTS-1, I had a chance to talk with Major Kyle “Elton” McHugh, tactical air department head at MAWTS-1. McHugh was originally a Harrier pilot who transitioned to the F-35B and served for three years with the first forward deployed F-35B squadron,…
