2014-04-08 The impact of the speed and range of the Osprey is driving an opportunity to add speed and effectiveness for situational decision makers in the ground combat element flying aboard the Osprey as well. As Col. Mike Orr, the CO of VMX-22, explained in an earlier interview: It is not…
2014-04-06 By Robbin Laird At the Williams Foundation seminar entitle Air Combat Operations: 2025 and Beyond, Air Marshall Geoff Brown, the Chief of Staff of the Royal Australian Air Force provided a sober and challenging perspective on the way ahead. He warned that preparing for future threats and challenges was…
2014-04-11 In our new special report, Second Line of Defense looks at Australian defense modernization, notably in the air systems areas. The report is informed by a number of interviews conducted in Australia in March 2014. It is informed as well by interviews with USN, USMC, and USAF staff and commanders.…
2014-04-01 By Robbin Laird The classic fighter import program for a country the size of Australia is to build for the domestic customer, the program ends, you do a little bit of sustainment work and then move on. With the F-35 as a global program, a domestic supplier can position itself…
2014-03-31 By Robbin Laird While visiting Australia, and visiting various Australian defense facilities and participating in a future of airpower conference hosted by the Williams Foundation, I had a chance to talk with Thales as well as four suppliers for the F-35 program in Australia. This provided a good sense…
2014-03-30 By Robbin Laird Ferra engineering is an international company based in Australia, which engages in the design, manufacture and delivery of advanced aerospace/defense components and systems for a number of well-known manufacturers. The company is an Australian based supplier for the F-35 as a global program, and as such,…
2014-03-31 Michael W. Wynne, 21st Secretary, United States Air Force The Crimean crisis and the PRC pushing out in the Pacific are two reminders that the world is not of our own making. The defense of Europe and Pacific defense require capabilities to deter and prevail, where global reach and…
2014-03-27 By Robbin Laird During my visit to Australia in early March, I had a chance to talk with some of the F-35 suppliers in Australia. When one frames this subject, the term “suppliers” to a nation’s F-35 program suggests a legacy approach, whereby one is assembling an aircraft in…
