The F-35 Global Supply Chain: A Japanese Perspective

02/06/2013
The F-35 is built to become a global plane.   The defense industrial agreement underlying the program have both that intent and if realized that impact. In a recent Japanese piece on the F-35 this was underscored. The fighter jet is being developed by an international consortium led by U.S.…

Commander’s Perspectives on the Pacific Challenges: Shaping an Effective 21st Century Force

02/01/2013
2013-02-01 by Robbin Laird At Second Line of Defense, we have conducted a number of interviews with Commander’s with special roles in the Pacific.  In this article, we want to bring together some of those insights into a more comprehensive look at the challenges as seen by the Commander’s who are…

Leveraging Amphibious Capabilities to Shape More Effective Global Capabilities

01/31/2013
2013-01-31 By Col. Bradley Weisz, Deputy Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group TWO, United States Fleet Forces Command, Little Creek, Virginia “I believe that our nation needs fast, austere and lethal expeditionary naval forces that can execute missions across the spectrum of conflict.  The Navy-Marine Corps team is that key.” In 2008, the…

100th F-35 on the Assembly Line

01/31/2013
2013-01-30 According to a Lockheed Martin Press Release: Assembly of the 100th Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] F-35 Lightning II is well underway at the F-35 production facility here. [caption id="attachment_50376" align="alignnone" width="300"] Wing of 100th F-35 on the Fort Worth Assembly Line, January 2013. Credit: Lockheed Martin  [/caption] F-35 technicians…

The Challenge of Deterrence in the Second Nuclear Age: A Discussion with Paul Bracken

01/28/2013
2013-01-28 Recently, Second Line of Defense sat down with Professor Paul Bracken to discuss his new book entitled The Second Nuclear Age. https://sldinfo.com/paul-bracken-on-the-second-nuclear-age/ The book is an important statement of the challenge of deterrence in a proliferating nuclear world, one in which Americans see less value in nuclear weapons, but…