United States ISR Operations From New Base in Niger

11/07/2019
By defenceWeb Air Base 201 in Agadez, Niger. The United States Air Force (USAF) has begun intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations from its newly constructed Air Base 201 in Agadez, Niger. US Africa Command on 1 November said ISR operations are “in support of our partner forces and international efforts…

The IDF Hosts Blue Flag 19: A Fifth Generation Enabled Air Combat Exercise

11/07/2019
The Israeli Air Force is hosting a five day exercise in the south of the country involving over one thousand personnel from four nations, the US, Germany, Italy, and Greece. The IDF's F-35s are a key part of the exercise. Currently the IAF has 14 F-35 Adir aircraft and is…

The Integrated Distributed Force and Maritime Operations

11/02/2019
By Robbin Laird During my most recent visit to Australia in October 2019, I have had the chance to visit the Chief of Navy’s Seapower Conference and to attend the latest Williams Foundation seminar. And along the way have held roundtables at the Australian National University, the RAAF’s Airpower Development…

The Next Phase of Development for Osprey Nation: From Reach to Working Effectively in an Integrated Distributed Force

10/31/2019
By Robbin Laird Recently, I had a chance to visit Naval Air Station Patuxent River and to meet with Col Matthew Kelly, who is in charge of the V-22 Joint Program Office (PMA-275). I first met “Squirt” when he was an F-35B test pilot and indeed was selected as test…

A Case Study of the Evolving Integrated Distributed Force: The Australian Maritime Border Command

10/21/2019
By Robbin Laird Canberra, Australia I am currently in Australia supporting the next Williams Foundation Seminar on “Fifth Generation Maneuver Warfare.” I will be leaving next to go to Bahrain for a military conference there and will do a presentation on the shift towards a new approach to warfare by…

Shaping the C2/ISR Infrastructure for an Integrated Distributed Force

10/19/2019
By Robbin Laird Over the past thirty years, the United States and its core allies have gone through three phases of innovation with regard to conventional forces. The first was air-land battle designed for the European theater and executed in the 1991 Iraqi War. The second was the innovations associated…