2013-04-14 by Robbin Laird With 2014 coming, NATO faces a transition in Afghanistan. With this transition, comes the need to attend as best as possible to Afghan security and to ensure that the conditions which led to the U.S. and then NATO intervention simply return. A decade of war, which…
2013-04-14 The North Korean crisis reminds us that the role of Chinese arms exports and technology transfer are already globally significant. The involvement of China in the proliferation of nuclear technology to Pakistan, North Korea, and Iran is a key element in supporting triangular trade among the emergent nuclear club. As…
2013-04-14 The Chinese military or the PLA is often looked at as the odd man out of Chinese decision-making. But a recent Japanese study of Chinese decision-making suggests that the PLA is a key player in shaping evolving Chinese thinking and approaches to global reach. In effect, the PLA is a…
2013-04-12 by Robbin Laird As NATO shapes the transition strategy in Afghanistan, the airpower dimension is a central one. The geography and threat environment requires an ability to move forces throughout the country to deal with disparate threats. And it is crucial as well to impede the concentration of force…
2013-04-11 In a discussion in late March 2013, Lieutenant General Robert E. Schmidle Jr., the Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Aviation (DCA), discussed the F-35B and the evolving Marine Corps approach to the aircraft. The DCA highlighted a number of key changes associated with the introduction of the F-35B into…
2013-04-10 Concluding remarks by Lt. General (Retired) David Deptula at the recent International Conference on Air and Space Power in Istanbul Turkey held 28-29 March 2013. http://www.harpak.edu.tr/Dokuman/ICAPposter.pdf http://www.allconferences.com/c/the-first-international-conference-on-air-space-power-istanbul-2013-march-27 This conference gave us the chance to discuss the potential of air and space power’s contribution to 21st Century warfare, and to…
2013-04-08 Recently, we released a report on what we are calling a 21st Century weapons enterprise. We are focusing on the impact of new relationships among 5th generation aircraft, weapons and robotics, which can reshape how platforms operate together and how strike is delivered. At the heart of the change…
2013-04-16 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake We have heard much about the anti-access, and area-denial threat which China poses to American and allied forces in the Pacific. We have read much about new missiles such as the DF-21, which it is asserted can destroy maneuvering ships at sea to…