CH-53Ks at VMX-1: Update May 2021

05/16/2021
VMX-1 at New River is preparing the CH-53K for its entry into service. The CH-53K will replace the CH-53E “Super Stallion,” which has served the Marine Corps for 40 years, and will transport Marines, heavy equipment and supplies during ship-to-shore movement in support of amphibious assault and subsequent operations ashore.…

A Logistics Perspective on II MEF Transformation

05/14/2021
By Robbin Laird As the Marines work with the U.S. Navy to reshape capabilities for the maritime fight, two key elements for successfully doing so are the right kind of C2 for distributed integrated operations and logistical capabilities to support such a force. The logistics piece is not an afterthought,…

Naval Group in Australia and the Future Submarine Program: A May 2021 Update

05/13/2021
By Pierre Tran Paris - Naval Group has appointed Lilian Braylé as executive vice-president to run the Australian program to build 12 ocean-going Attack class submarines, the French shipbuilder said May 11. “Lilian Brayle will join Naval Group on 31 May as executive vice-president for the Australian Future Submarine Program,”…

Rethinking Expeditionary Operations in the North Atlantic

05/12/2021
By Robbin Laird As the U.S. Navy reworks how to do blue water expeditionary operations into and through the North Atlantic with integrated capabilities with our Nordic and Baltic allies, how best to shape an expeditionary approach for an offensive-defensive enterprise?  What building blocks are essential to work more effective…

The Marines and Naval Integration: The F-35 and the New UK Carrier Force

05/11/2021
We have heard a good deal about the desire to work Navy and USMC integration. What can be forgotten in this discussion is how important USMC air is in such an effort., It is not surprising for as the U.S. Navy refocuses on the high-end fight, at the heart of…

Nuclear Submarines and Nuclear Power in Australia?

05/11/2021
By Denis Mole In Adelaide’s The Advertiser newspaper on 7 March, former defence minister Christopher Pyne said, ‘Then there is the nonsensical argument that the Attack Class submarines are no good because they aren’t nuclear. Almost all of these arguments are driven by people who either know nothing at all about submarines and…

Reshaping ISR for Navy-USMC Integration

05/10/2021
By Robbin Laird The terms C2, ISR and training are changing significantly in the shift from the land wars to the high-end fight. C2 is migrating from hierarchical direction to mission command and distributed operations; ISR is moving from intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance to INFORMATION to decision making for an integrated…