2015-01-24 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake The coming of the USS Gerald R. Ford sets in motion a very different type of large-deck carrier. The hull form of the Ford is a tribute to the very successful Nimitz-class hull design. That is where the comparisons basically end. As the…
2015-01-23 The A400M has entered into service with the French Air Force concurrent with a change in the French Air Force (FAF) command structure and the growing importance of the European Air Transport Command (EATC). This means that the training, and operational approach of the new French command and the…
2015-01-22 Murielle Delaporte, the Co-Founder of Second Line of Defense and the editor of Operationnels SLDS, is currently with one of the two NATO counter-mining groups. Her full report will appear on the Operationnels website and magazine. The change of command of the group is held twice a year and Dutch Navy…
2015-01-22 When visiting the Gerald R. Ford and making the trek to the bridge, one notices quickly that the deck space in front of the island is significantly expanded over a Nimitz class carrier. We talked with the Captain and a construction engineer about the changes on our visit to…
2015-01-19 Although the F-22 and F-35 have flown together previously, now training to bring together the core competencies of the two systems into a coherent combat force has begun. As the former head of the Air Combat Command put it in an interview with Second Line of Defense: People focus…
2015-01-17 By Robbin Laird The Royal Australian Air Force is in the throes of significant modernization. As I wrote during my visit earlier this year to Australia about the process of change: The Aussies entered the 21st century with an aging Air Force. The silver lining in that difficult position is…
2015-01-15 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Nellis AFB, Nevada A new chapter in developing the next generation of combat airpower has just opened at the USAF Weapons School, Nellis AFB. We attended the arrival ceremony of the first fully operational F-35A into the USAF Weapons School. F-35s have been…
01/13/2015: Soldiers from the 3rd Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment arrive in Latvia for Operation Atlantic Resolve to live and train with NATO partners and allies. Credit:2nd Cavalry Regiment:1/12/15 According to an article by Cheryl Pellerin published January 12, 2015 on the DoD website: U.S. Army troops resumed Operation Atlantic Resolve…
