2014-08-04 Some years ago, the former head of the F-35 program and then director of the USAF Air Armaments Center at Eglin Air Force Base, General “CR” Davis highlighted the importance of new weaponry. In this case he focused on a legacy weapon, the AMRAAM. Maj. Gen. Charles Davis, director…
2014-08-04 By Ed Timperlake and Robbin Laird During our recent visit to Yuma Marine Corps Air Station, we talked with officers from both the VFMA-121 Squadron and MAWTS-1. VFM-121 brought us up to speed on the rollout of the F-35B to IOC next year; MAWTS-1 provided us a perspective on…
2014-08-08 By Robbin Laird The USS America is the largest amphibious ship ever built by the United States. The ship has been built at the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi and departed mid-July for its trip to its initial home part at San Diego, California and then will be…
2014-08-06 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Last Fall we had the chance to meet with pilots and maintainers at Eglin Air Force Base along with Secretary Michael Wynne. In addition to talking with Lt. Col. “Chip” Berke about his F-22 and F-35 experiences, we had a chance to talk…
2014-08-06 After a visit to Denmark, we published a piece on the challenge of defending Greenland. But more broadly, there is the defense challenge, which is a Danish, NATO, and a US challenge. Greenlanders live in the more temperate coastal areas; the rest of its two million sq km are…
2014-07-29 by Robbin Laird On July 24, 2014, the first two Australian F-35s were on display and an official ceremony held to mark the event. Two visitors to the event highlighted its importance and provided context. The first was Frank Kendall, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology &…
2014-08-04 According to a Eurofighter press release, and dated August 4, 2014, the first phase of tests for the integration of the Storm Shadow long-range missile onto the Eurofighter Typhoon has been completed. Storm Shadow is a long range, all-weather, high precision, stand-off weapon already in service on Royal Air…
2014-07-28 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Far from the PR fighting fields of Farnbourgh, the USMC is preparing for a significant upsurge in the combat capability of the Navy Marine air/Ground expeditionary force. The first Squadron destined for initial operational capability (IOC) of the F-35B, are the “Green Knights”…
