04/08/2015:A C-5M Super Galaxy aircrew from Travis Air Force Base claimed 45 aeronautical records in one flight, positioning the U.S. military’s largest airframe as the world’s top aviation record holder with a total of 86 world records. The flight from Travis AFB established standards in 45 previously unset categories. The…
2015-03-19 By Robbin Laird The RAF is undergoing two fighter aircraft transitions at the same time. On the one hand, the Tornado is being retired and the Typhoon is subsuming its missions. On the other hand, the F-35B is coming to the fleet and will be working with Typhoon for…
2015-03-27 By Robbin Laird The supply side of the amphibious fleet has gone down over the past two decades. The amphibious ship fleet inventory has been reduced by 50% over the past twenty years and will operate in the range of 28-33 ships in the foreseeable future. The demand side…
2015-03-27 The Japanese are deploying their largest warship in the post-war period. The ship is focused on carrying helicopters but will be operate the Osprey as well. The ship is about 250 meters and displaces 19,500 tons. According to an article published in The Asahi Shimbun on March 25, 2015…
03/25/2015: By Robbin Laird In 2007, the HMS Illustrious was the first non-US ship on which an Osprey was to land. I had the opportunity to be aboard one of those Ospreys and land on the ship and observe Marines working with the Royal Navy and operating their Harriers off of the…
2015-03-21 One thing which long range lift airplanes allow a country to do is to operate globally. This point was driven home once again by the RAF flying to Vanuatu in support of the international aid effort to the cyclone-hit Pacific islands. According to an article on the UK MoD…
2015-03-13 By Robbin Laird I have had the opportunity to track the evolution of the Osprey from seeing a small number of planes on the tarmac at New River to watching it mature and revolutionize the assault force. It is clear that the F-35B will have a similar trajectory with…
2015-03-10 In an interesting piece published in the Air and Space Power Journal, Dr. Robert C. Owen takes a look at how to rethink tanking support for deployed forces. We have focused in our book The Remaking of American Military Power in the Pacific and in various analytical pieces and…
