2017-10-14 The F-22 was labelled a "Cold War" aircraft by the last President and became a key target for Secretary Gates in terms of moving the USAF into a key role for supporting the ground forces, rather than providing for multi-mission air dominance for a much wider range of tasks,…
2017-10-06 By Robbin Laird and Murielle Delaporte Canada has placed a priority on anti-submarine warfare in its NATO contribution. According to the Royal Canadian Air Force Chief of Staff, Lt. General Hood, “I am exceptionally proud of our ASW capability and when I couple it with the new advanced capability…
2017-10-07 By Robbin Laird With the significant operational tempo on the US tanker fleet and with the inability to replace the older KC-135s expeditiously, the KC-10s have become a workhorse of the USAF tanker fleet. Earlier some questioned the value of a larger tanker in doing the wide variety of…
10/10/2017: In September 2017, Sweden hosted Exercise Aurora, its largest military exercise in nearly 25 years. The exercise involved nearly 30 per cent of the Swedish Armed Forces, as well as troop contributions from NATO Allied and partner countries - which joined on a bilateral basis. The goal of the exercise…
2017-10-05 By Robbin Laird The USAF has seen more than a decade in which a primary function has been to support ground operations. The USAF has served as Fed Ex, a flying gas station, a strike and ISR server in the sky for various types of ground operations. The end…
2017-09-30 By Robbin Laird © 2017 FrontLine Defence (Vol 14, No 4) The rebuilding of Russia’s Northern fleet and its defense bastion built around the Kola Peninsula creates a direct challenge to the Norwegian area of interest. Clearly, the expanded reach of Russia into the Arctic also affects the nature of the…
2017-09-26 Aurora 17 is the largest Swedish exercise in more than 20 years, and is intended to exercise Sweden’s defense capability against a larger, sophisticated opponent. According to the Swedish Ministry of Defence: In order to increase military capabilities, Swedish Armed Forces will conduct Exercise Aurora 17 – a national exercise that will…
2017-09-14 The Williams Foundation has been a thought leader in bringing together the key players in the Australian military as well as allies to shape a way ahead for the integrated force. Since March 2014, the Williams Foundation has conducted a series of Seminars that explored the opportunities and challenges…