2012-07-26 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake There were only four men in U.S. History awarded the five star rank of Fleet Admiral: Chester Nimitz, “Bull” Halsey, William Leahy and Earnie King. From their days at Annapolis to commanding the greatest Naval Fleet in history, each man spent significant time at…
2012-07-26 An overview of the F-35 program from the standpoint of the pilots in the program is provided in the videotape of the session at the Air Show on July 10, 2011 As readers of Second Line of Defense know, we have spent considerable time with F-35 test pilots and…
2012-07-23 In this piece translated from the French. General Patrick Tanguy one of the architects of modern Army aviation con-ops discusses the modern air mobility concept relied upon by the French forces, and highlighted in Libyan and Afghan operations. General Tanguy is on the editorial board of our partner publication…
2012-07-16 by Robbin Laird This week the UK government will officially accept its first F-35B. There are a total of 4 under contract, which includes the first operational aircraft to be received in LRIP 7. This is a re-affirmation of the importance of the F-35 and the B version for the…
2012-07-16 By Robbin Laird The month long visit of the X3 – high-speed hybrid Eurocopter to America is half-way overview. It began at the Eurocopter facilities in Grand Prairie, Texas in June 2012. With the Lt Governor of Texas and other political dignitaries present, the senior leadership of Eurocopter introduced…
7/3/12: by Robbin Laird During the U.S. tanker competition, one journalist made the comment that this was simply a competition about a gas station in the sky. This comment revealed only partial understanding of what a modern air tanker can bring to operations. The A330 MRTT tanker as a fleet…
7/1/12: by Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake In a recent report by The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, the evolving threat to U.S. space capabilities was highlighted. “China is pressing forward with an ambitious counterspace program, including a ground- and space-based space surveillance systems, electronic warfare capabilities, and kinetic kill…
by Robbin Laird The USMC is at the heart of building the agile forces central to the restructuring of U.S. forces overall. As we argued in an op ed on Defense News: Deterring Iran or China revolves around strengthened U.S. power-projection forces. Building for the future is now. We have…
