2014-07-07 By Richard Weitz Recent tests have seen progress for two key elements of the evolving missile defense system deployed by the United States and key allies. The first set of tests involve key elements for the new Ground Based Interceptor to be deployed in Alaska. And the second set…
2014-07-02 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake When we wrote our book on the evolution of Pacific challenges and strategy with Richard Weitz, we focused on the core necessity to shape a modular and scalable force to provide for the kind of forward presence, which the US needed to operate…
2014-07-08 By Robbin Laird During my recent visit to the 2nd I have had the opportunity to visit the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing for a number of years. The Wing has been an important force for innovation in the period in which I have been visiting. KC-130Js, and Ospreys are…
2014-07-08 Second Line of Defense visited 2nd Marine Wing in late June 2014, and we covered the VMX-22 change of command. As part of this effort, we sat down with the departing commander, Col. Michael Orr and with the newly appointed commander, who had been serving as the Executive Officer…
07/04/2014 By Robbin Laird Last year after attending the Airbus Military Trade Media briefing, I looked at what the promise the A400M provided to users and the marketplace. Journalists who attended were given the opportunity to fly the aircraft for more than an hour. Francis Tusa, the well-known British journalist…
2014/7/03 The F-35 is both cause and consequence of change in US and allied air power. The first Second Line of Defense publication, which addressed this, was called The Renorming of Air Power and the title was crafted to capture the interactivity between the new aircraft and new concepts of…
2014-06-29 By Robbin Laird Recently, I have had the chance to visit the USS America, interview with Ed Timperlake the head of the Military Sealift Command and to spend several days with Second Marine Air Wing, including watching the change of command for VMX-22. We will have several pieces coming…
07/03/2014: The A400M was originally conceived of in a world where lifters were trucks to carry cargo and troops from point A to B. This world has totally been transformed by operations in the past decade, during which the A400M was being developed and readied for its roll out into…
