General Walsh has provided a core understanding to the strategic shift in the use of manned air in the COIN environment. The shift is from shaping air around precision-strike to shaping air to provide collaborative presence... “The ability of the ground and air elements to work together to shape presence…
In an interview just prior to the deployment of the Osprey squadron from North Carolina to Afghanistan, several members of the squadron talked with sldinfo.com about their upcoming deployment. The Osprey team discussed their preparation, some of their expectations and some of their thinking about how the Osprey could be…
Ed Timperlake comments on Air Power Australia Assessments of AESA Radar Competitions (...): "Two mutually supporting papers published in Air Power Australia one by WGCDR Chris Mills and the other by Dr Carlo Kopp perfectly capture the action/reaction dynamic cycle of fighter aircraft design features."
The global changes induced by the war against terrorism with global means and the rise of key regional power centers are reshaping the maritime strategic environment. It is the coexistence of these two dynamics which is central for the period ahead.
One of the more interesting dynamics of change in concepts of operations in the years ahead will be the relationship between robotic systems and ground, air and sea operations. An excellent illustration of the thinking about operational scenarios within which ground robotic vehicles might be used in the years ahead…
Missile defense is a global effort. It requires the global deployment of U.S. forces and the capability to connect those forces with those of its allies. Joint and coalition concepts of operations are being shaped to ensure decision makers with the options of providing defense for allied deployed forces and…
The USMC has become more of a land army as a consequence of the Iraq War. General Conway, the USMC Commandant, is worried the Corps is losing its expeditionary focus. Marine officers who have joined the USMC during the Iraq period are very likely NEVER to have been aboard ship.
The United States and its allies are in the midst of a significant financial downturn with serious consequences for defense acquisition. The “contingency operation” in Afghanistan and the “withdrawal” from Iraq both generate severe budgetary pressures and emphasize force acquisition priorities most appropriate to those operations.