USS H.W. Bush CVN 77 Prepares for Deployment

01/23/2017
2017-01-23  NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Nearly 6,000 Sailors attached to the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (GHWBCSG) will depart Norfolk and Mayport, Florida, Jan. 21, for a regularly-scheduled deployment. Led by Commander, Carrier Strike Group 2, Rear Adm. Kenneth R. Whitesell, the GHWBCSG is comprised of the staff of…

The Crowsnest for the New UK Carriers

01/22/2017
2017-01-22 According to a Ministry of Defence story published on January 16, 2017, the UK is building a new helo based Crowsnest as part of the operational capability onboard their new class of carriers. The deal with Lockheed Martin will see the start of manufacturing on the new Crowsnest system.…

RAF Air Commodore Duguid Looks at the Future of the RAF: Shaping a Key Role for Typhoon

01/21/2017
2017-01-18 In the December 2016 issue of Eurofighter World, an interview with Air Commodore Ian Duguid at RAF Coningsby focused on the evolving role of the RAF's Typhoons within the evolving capability mix going forward. The RAF is evolving, changing to meet new demands. Tornado — for decades a lynchpin of…

Shaping a 21st Century Defense Strategy: The Norwegian Way Ahead

01/16/2017
2017-01-08 By Robbin Laird Norway stands at an interesting global and historical point in the evolution of Western defense. It faces directly resurgent Russia and faces the challenge with its Nordic partners of Baltic defense as well. Then with the Arctic opening and the High North actually part of Norwegian…

Evolving Technological Threats: The Coming of High-Speed Maneuvering Weapons

01/15/2017
2017-01-08 By Robbin Laird As Mark Lewis, the former Chief Scientist of the USAF, has warned repeatedly, high speed weapons, notably hypersonic ones, are on the way and will be part of the evolving threat environment. As he wrote in 2010: Aerospace engineering is ultimately about pushing the boundaries, and…

Shaping the Way Ahead for the Combat Insertion Force: The 15th MEU Goes to Sea with the USS America

01/14/2017
2017-01-07 By Robbin Laird A simple news release highlights the evolving USN-USMC combat team as a key step forward in shaping the combat infrastructure for the sea base which can support evolving capabilities for the assault force. According to a press release from the USMC dated January 6, 2017: The…

Dutch Air Force Takes Baltic Air Patrol Lead

01/14/2017
2017-01-14 ŠIAULIAI, Lithuania On 5 January 2017, NATO’s Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission entered its 43rd rotation since its beginning in 2004. After four months of leading the mission, France handed over the symbolic key to the Baltic Airspace to the Netherlands at the traditional ceremony held at Šiauliai Air Base. The…

The F-35 Global Enterprise: Reworking Collective Defense

01/12/2017
2017-01-09 A subtle but important contribution of shaping a global F-35 system is the US services and core allies deploy similar high-end warfighting capability at the SAME time. This means that there is collective learning of higher end warfare shared across the services and the coalition partners built in. When…