2016-08-08 On August 5, 2016, Second Line of Defense visited Williamtown Airbase to meet with Group Captain Stuart Bellingham, Commanding Officer of No. 42 Wing (the Wedgetail squadron). When you visit the squadron what is striking is that the squadron is colocated with the System Program Office (SPO). When you…
2016-08-07 Currently, Second Line of Defense is in Australia and participating in the upcoming Williams Foundation seminar on air-sea integration. Initial interviews have been conducted at Amberley and Williamtown airbases and provide updates on the C-17, KC-30A and Wedgetail roles and evolutions within the RAAF and its global operations. Many…
2016-08-07 Over the years, the MV-22 has been certified on a number of coalition ships, the latest is the HMAS Canberra. During an interview when a Dutch ship was conducting certification trials, the Captain of the ship highlighted what was at stake with the effort: In a phone interview prior…
2016-07-17 By Robbin Laird During my visit to the United Kingdom in June 2016, I had a chance to talk with Air Commodore Dean Andrew, the ISTAR Force Commander based at RAF Waddington. We spoke about the challenges of transforming the current platform focused Air ISTAR community to an integrated…
2016-08-02 By Todd Miller Even before the USAF declared the F-35As initial operational capability (IOC) on August 2, they were well ahead of the curve planning the next phase of the F-35A program. This next phase is focused on the priority of F-35A integration within the USAF fighter fleet, and…
2016-08-01 By Robbin Laird I have had the chance to visit with the pilots and crews of four new or modified new air systems used by the U.S. and the allies in current Middle Eastern operations. Each of these platforms has provided capabilities important to the effort and foreshadows the…
2016-07-18 By Robbin Laird USMC and RAF F-35Bs flew from USMC Beaufort Air Station to participate in the RIAT and Farnbourgh air shows. USAF sent F-35As across the Atlantic to participate as well in RIAT. These flights are the latest trans-Atlantic crossings with the Italians coming first on February 5th with…
2016-07-29 By Robbin Laird An insertion force is characterized by strike, defense, lift, tanking and air battle management that can be effectively integrated to get to an objective area, and then to operate over and within until mission success. Sustainable reach is a fundamental operational objective. This means that lift…
