The CMV-22B Comes to the Carrier: From COD to Fleet Con-Ops

01/22/2023
By Robbin Laird The CMV-22B has been bought by the U.S. Navy as a replacement for the C-2A Greyhound aircraft to provide for the carrier on-board delivery mission for the large deck carrier fleet. The numbers of the aircraft ordered for this mission are 48 and are sized to provide…

Shaping a Way Ahead for Airpower for Integrated Fleet Operations: The Perspective of the Navy Air Boss

01/18/2023
By Robbin Laird Recently I visited San Diego and had chance to discuss with Vice Admiral Whitesell the work the Navy is doing in terms of introducing new capabilities and training for high-end operations. The Navy is introducing new capabilities onboard the large deck carriers, focusing on new concepts of…

Remembering Back to January 2022: The F-35 Comes Closer to Russia

01/01/2023
Thursday 6 January 2022 was a historic day for the Royal Norwegian Air Force. On this day, Norway’s new F-35s officially took over the QRA mission, ending the F-16 fleet’s 42 year-long mission serving Norway and NATO. The formal transfer of authority from F-16 to F-35 took place at Evenes…

The War in Ukraine and its Impact on the Future of Naval Warfare: The USV Dimension

12/22/2022
By George Galdorisi If one story has dominated the international news for the past ten months, it is Russia’s egregious invasion of Ukraine, a war that shows no sign of abating, and which is the largest conflict in Europe in over three-quarters of a century. The breathless daily reporting has…

Digital Horizon Wraps Up: Task Force 59 Perspective

12/22/2022
According to a story written by NAVCENT Public Affairs and published on December 15, 2022: U.S. 5th Fleet concluded Digital Horizon, Dec. 15, a three-week unmanned and artificial intelligence event in Bahrain that involved 17 industry partners. The event included 15 advanced systems, 10 of which operated in the Middle…

11th MEU and Maritime Autonomous Systems Ops

12/13/2022
While we await the wrap up of Digital Horizons exercise going on currently with Task Force 59, if we look back to last year we can highlight the 11th MEU working with the MANTAS T12 maritime autonomous system. Marines assigned to the All Domain Reconnaissance Detachment, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit…

The USS Gerald R Ford Returns to Norfolk: Putting it into Strategic Context

12/07/2022
During a Bold Alligator story which I wrote for what is now Breaking Defense, I highlighted the importance of understanding what a photo meant when in context.  I wrote in that 2012 article that because the Osprey was used to conduct an assault raid from the seabase deep inland, the…