Bluefin 21 Artimis AUV in the Search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

04/13/2014
2014-04-13 Bluefin 21, Artemis autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is shown on the deck aboard the Royal Australian Navy Australian Defense Vessel (ADV) Ocean Shield. Joint Task Force 658 is supporting Operation Southern Indian Ocean, searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777. Navy Media Content Services, 4/11/14 According to the manufacturer:The…

Marine Rotational Force-Darwin is Welcomed to Australia: A Key Element in Deterrence in Depth

04/11/2014
2014-04-11 By Robbin LairdIn the video above , Brigadier Gen. John Frewen, commanding officer, 1st Brigade, Australian Army, welcomse the Marine Rotational Force Darwin or MRF-D to the Northern Territories. The Marines with MRF-D will conduct unilateral training and bilateral training with the Australian Defence Force in the Northern Territory and…

The Marines, the Aussies and Cross-Cutting Modernizations

04/10/2014
2014-03-26 By Robbin Laird Soon the USMC Darwin Rotational Force will come to Australia to train with the Australians. What might not be as obvious as the images of the cross-training is the cross modernization of the two forces.   The Aussies are re-shaping their forces under the influence of new…

The USMC Shift in the Pacific and the Role of Exercises: A MARFORPAC Perspective

04/08/2014
The USMC and the Distributed Laydown from Second Line of Defense 2014-04-08 By Robbin Laird I had a chance to talk with the US Marine Corps, Pacific (MARFORPAC) in late February 2014 about their major project of reshaping and repositioning their forces in the Pacific over the next decade. It is…

The Chief of Staff of the Australian Air Force on the Future of Air Power: The Impact of the F-35 on the RAAF

04/06/2014
2014-04-06  By Robbin Laird At the Williams Foundation seminar entitle Air Combat Operations: 2025 and Beyond, Air Marshall Geoff Brown, the Chief of Staff of the Royal Australian Air Force provided a sober and challenging perspective on the way ahead.  He warned that preparing for future threats and challenges was…