2013-01-24 by Robbin Laird Often, the acquisition of a new defense platform is discussed in terms of itself and the entire operational impact or strategic context is lost. This is the usual case with the most innovative air tanker solution to date, namely the A330MRTT. The A330MRTT deployed as a…
2013-01-20 Second Line of Defense had a chance to talk with Major General Christopher Owens, Commanding General, 1st MAW in mid-December towards the end of a major USMC exercise in the Pacific. http://www.1stmaw.marines.mil/ https://slsp.manpower.usmc.mil/gosa/biographies/rptBiography.asp?PERSON_ID=2072&PERSON_TYPE=General Second Line of Defense had a chance to talk with Major General Christopher Owens, Commanding General, 1st…
2013-01-17 by Robbin Laird As Canada considers its search and rescue options, the V-22 is an obvious candidate to be in the mix. The range and speed of the V-22 and the commitment of the US to supporting the evolution of the aircraft and distinct possibilities for increased acquisition numbers…
By Murielle Delaporte 2013-01-17- Paris, France This photo was shot in early morning of January 13, 2013 and show four Rafales which took off from the air base at Saint Dizier, France, with the aim of striking the training camps, infrastructure and logistics support of the rear bases of…
2013-01-17 by Robbin Laird The 21st century is not the 20th. But this is too often forgotten when it comes to shaping an effective military and security strategy. [caption id="attachment_48733" align="alignnone" width="232"] Any US-China rivalry in the Pacific really revolves around who has the most effective allied strategy. Credit Image:…
2013-01-16 By Jonathan Glancey The Telegraph Everyone I meet involved in the F-35 project talks lyrically about the computer wizardry of this digital-era aircraft. I ask the same analogue question, over and again, of the test pilots: so what’s it like to fly? 'A no-brainer,’ they chorus. They talk so…
2013-01-13 By Robbin Laird The pivot to the Pacific started more than a century ago. The United States first became a Pacific power in 1898, the year the US first annexed Hawaii and then gained Guam and the Philippines (as well as Puerto Rico) from Spain after a "short, victorious war."…
2013-01-11 By Robbin Laird Energy security is a key element of national security. The missing piece of America's energy security policy, in turn, is the glaring absence of a strategy to coordinate and secure the enormous energy resources of the Western hemisphere. Today, America is over-dependent on the increasingly volatile Middle…
