2013-07-31 Recently, the pilots of an Osprey team have been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for surviving under combat fire. This recognition is for the role of the Osprey in assault missions and is itself a measure of the maturing of the system and its crews in combat. The two…
2013-07-29 by Guy Martin The Special Forces are a potentially useful asset that can be used by the SADC Standby Force as a force multiplier, according to South African Army Colonel Renier Coetzee. Coetzee, speaking on behalf of Brigadier General Rudzani Maphwanya, head of the South African Special Forces, at…
2013-07-29 By Robbin Laird Last year, I provided an update on Osprey from the perspective of several years of combat under its belt. http://breakingdefense.com/2012/08/23/the-osprey-after-five-years-leading-a-tsunami-of-change/ This year, my visit to New River Air Station brought into focus the maturing of the Osprey and the preparation of the USMC for the next…
2013-07-28 By Robbin Laird As an American defense analyst and journalist, I recently had a chance to review the challenges facing Canadian defense during a visit to Ottawa. During this interview with Editor-in-Chief, Chris Maclean, and Richard Bray, long time reporter and senior writer from FrontLine Defence magazine, we discussed…
2013-07-26 The French operation in Mali opened up a space within which to deploy coalition forces and to shape the opportunity for African forces to perform a peacekeeping mission in that country. But to do so requires assets for the African nations to play their role. No asset is more…
2013-07-18 by Michael W. Wynne, 21st Secretary of the USAF We are now 13 percent complete of the 21st Century and it is time to really assess what constitutes airpower for this century. We have over a century of maturation and have pursued the widest range of complimentary science to…
2013-07-17 The new A400M airlifter combines a capability to carry oversized equipment similar to a C-17 but deliver it on airfields more like the C-130 can land on. The ability to deliver significant amounts of equipment or supplies close to the area of operations is a significant development for the airlift…
2013-07-16 A contingent of 20 US marines arrives in Simon’s town on Saturday to begin preparation in earnest for next week’s joint Exercise Shared Accord. When in full swing in Eastern Cape as well as the sea off the province it is envisaged some 5 000 troops will be active…
