The Payload Revolution: Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Decision-Making

02/26/2025
By Robbin Laird When I visited VADM Miller, then the Navy’s Air Boss, in 2020, I learned of something called MISR. No not a cheap person, but the Navy’s rethink of how to work the left side of the kill chain or to expand its capability to provide the data…

Integrated Training Exercise 1-25: The CH-53K Contributes

02/23/2025
As the Trump Administration considers a way ahead for U.S. forces, support for the USMC should be front and center. Multi-domain warfare delivered by a survivable and lethal force is at the heart of effective distributed operations. The Maines have crafted the most advanced air enablement capability for the ground…

The Publication of Defense XXIV: Reworking U.S. and Allied Defenses to Deal with the Multi-Polar Authoritarian Challenge

02/10/2025
Beginning with the year 2020, we have published an annual publication to highlight defense dynamics and developments over the past five years. This provides a unique insight into developments during this period by providing assessments published in real time during that period. We started with 2020 and highlighted the pandemic…

“Baltic Sentry”: An Important Place to Start for Accelerating the Paradigm Shift in Maritime Operations

01/23/2025
A recent NATO decision provides a golden opportunity to work an effective approach accelerating the paradigm shift in maritime operations. At a summit of NATO Baltic allies held on 14 January 2025, the Sec Gen of NATO announced the establishment of a new NATO task force. According to a NATO…

Driving Innovation for the Maritime Forces: Keeping up with the Criminal Class

01/20/2025
By Robbin Laird When I was working with the U.S. Coast Guard, more than a decade ago, the Commandant was considering a new acquisition approach. The acquisition approach became known as Deepwater. This is the only comprehensive mutli-domain acquisiton approach which the U.S. has tried to implement in the maritime…

A Paradigm Shift in Shipbuilding

01/15/2025
There is a shift in how the maritime warfighting force is evolving and with that significant elements for a paradigm shift in the maritime force. One aspect of that paradigm shift has been spearheaded by the Danes with their focus on a new generation of modular shipbuilding. That approach is…

The King Stallion at MCAS Yuma

01/14/2025
The King Stallion as the latest major aviation addition to the USMC has come to MCAS Yuma in two major ways. VMX-1, the key Marine Corps operational test squadron, based at MCAS Yuma and they received their first King Stallion last June. This brought together all the key aricraft which…

Our First Book for 2025: The Australian Defence Force: Meeting the Modernization Challenges

01/07/2025
The Australian Defence Force: Meeting the Modernization Challenges examines the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) modernization efforts in light of evolving geopolitical realities, particularly concerning China. The book analyzes the challenges of balancing immediate readiness with long-term force planning. The author incorporates interviews and presentations from the 2024 Sir Richard Williams…