Australia Stands Up Centre of Expertise for Electronic Warfare

05/06/2021
The Commonwealth Government has announced a plan to establish a Centre of Expertise for Electronic Warfare in Adelaide in conjunction with Flinders University and DEWC T&E. Valued at $5 million over five years, the centre has been established under a Professional Electronic Warfare Training, Education and Research (PEWTER) memorandum of…

Egypt to Buy More Rafale Fighter Jets

05/05/2021
By Pierre Tran Paris - France welcomed May 4 an Egyptian announcement of an order for a further 30 Rafale fighter jets and weapons from Dassault Aviation, MBDA and Safran, confirming a news report on Disclose, a French campaigning website. “The armed forces minister, Florence Parly, welcomes the latest export…

The IDF Chooses the CH-53K: Building Block for Manned-Unmanned Operational Future

05/04/2021
By Robbin Laird The IDF recently selected the CH-53K to replace its legacy heavy lift assets, namely, the CH-53D.  It is clear that the IDF is buying the CH-53K for many of the same reasons which USMC is doing so but the IDF has been especially focused on three key…

II MEF Marines Prepare for the High-End Fight: MEFEX 21.1 and Dynamic Cape 21

05/03/2021
By Robbin Laird During a visit to Camp Lejeune during the last week of April 2021, I had a chance to talk and interview the IIMEF leadership team. They had just concluded a major exercise, Dynamic Cape 21, which I will highlight in some of those in the forthcoming published…

The Mid-Atlantic Tech Bridge and Second Fleet

05/02/2021
By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake During our visit to Norfolk in March 2021, we had a chance to meet with CDR Bobby Hanvey, Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Tech Bridge. The US Navy has set up a number of Tech Bridges to foster greater collaboration with the private sector…

Sherpa Pursues Alleged Corruption Inquiry Into Indian Rafale Acquisition

04/30/2021
By Pierre Tran Paris - Sherpa, a French non-governmental organization, said it filed April 28 a request for a judicial inquiry into alleged corruption on India’s acquisition of 36 Rafale fighter jets in a deal worth €7.8 billion ($9.4 billion). “Sherpa, represented by its lawyers William Bourdon and Vincent Brenghart, is…

Military Sealift Command Looks to Expand Air Support Options for its Hospital Ships

04/28/2021
Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) is currently conducting dynamic interface testing operations off the coast of Southern California. The operations are tests for compatibility usage of variants of the V-22 Osprey and MH-60 Seahawk with the ship’s new flight deck, and the first time a V-22…