By Robbin Laird During a visit to 2nd Marine Air Wing last summer, I met with Marine Air Group 26. During that visit we discussed the transition from the land wars, which included the need for more focus on the Northern Flank of NATO. Certainly, the current European crisis has…
Even though the focus is upon Ukraine, the Northern and Southern flanks of NATO are deeply affected by the crisis. The Belarus takeover by Moscow and the virtual permanent deployment of Russian force there with the Kaliningrad enclave not far way poses a direct threat to the Nordics, the Balts…
By Robbin Laird I have followed the progress of the Wedgetail since my first visits to Australia starting in 2014. This was a unique Australian capability which took time to shape and to integrate into their evolving fifth generation concepts of operations. But they have done so and are further…
The evolution of the Viper Attack Helicopter is part of the USMC's ongoing transformation. The coming of Link 16 and Full Motion Video is a key part of that change. As we noted with regard to this development: As the US Navy reworks how it is operating as a distributed…
A major Russian military exercise with Belarus is part of the evolving Russian narrative to pressure Europe and the United States. And this Russian broadcast on 18 January 2022 highlighted an interview with a Russian military expert that explained that it was about defending its interests against the "aggressive West."…
According to a story written by Senior Airman Jacob B. Wrightsman and published by CENTCOM on December 31, 2021: PRINCE SULTAN AIR BASE, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – Marines from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in late December, bringing a…
As part of the re-set of the Australian Army to support the evolving Australian defence strategy focused on the Indo-Pacific region, the Army has established a new army aviation command. In an article published on the Australian Department of Defence website on December 2, 2021, this development was highlighted. Chief…
According to a UK Ministry of Defence news story published on December 6, 2021, sky sabre, a state-of-the art air defence system is replacing the legacy Rapier system. 16 Regiment Royal Artillery is now accepting into service the first tranche of Sky Sabre and further procurements will be configured…
