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…
The evolution of air systems able to operate across the spectrum of warfare is a key dynamic changing the nature of warfare and security operations. Indeed, when one considers the future of combat ships a key consideration is clearly what types of air systems can operate off of those ships. …
2013-07-12 The subtitle of this piece could be: Osprey Carrier Shipboard Trials, and the Evolution of USMC Unmanned Air Systems Earlier we interviewed, Col. Michael Orr, the CO of VMX-22 about the transfer of the squadron from New River, North Carolina to the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station in 2015.…