The New UK Carrier, Evolving Military Capability and the Strategic Context: Shaping 21st Century Projection Forces

05/28/2015
2015-05-28 By Robbin Laird I visited the HMS Queen Elizabeth on March 31, 2015 and conducted interviews in MoD afterwards. The HMS Queen Elizabeth is a new carrier designed to leverage core 21st century technologies and to reshape the UK forces into a more effective power projection force. And the…

Osprey at the Eight-Year Mark: Preparing for the Next Phase

05/27/2015
2015-05-17 By Robbin Laird This September, the Osprey will reach an 8-year mark in its operational deployment history. In September 2007, the Osprey was deployed for the first time to Iraq. The USMC Commandant Conway and Deputy Commandant of Aviation Castellaw announced and made the decision to deploy the Osprey…

USS WASP F-35B Ship Integration (1)

05/27/2015
05/27/2015: On May 26, 2015, several journalists flew to the USS WASP aboard an Osprey from the Pentagon to the ship, which was operating off of the North Carolina coast. In addition to viewing the ops of the F-35B aboard the ship, there was opportunity to talk with the crew…

At the Vortex of 4th and 5th Generation Aircraft Integration: The Weapons Revolution

05/25/2015
2015-05-15 By Robbin Laird At the Copenhagen Airpower Symposium, a major theme was the impact of the F-35 on the transformation of airpower for the smaller or medium sized air forces. The coming of the F-35 was gaining momentum, and now those airpowers which are procuring the F-35, are thinking…