The F-35 Flight Test Program: 2012

01/28/2013
2013-01-28 The F-35 flight test program ended a successful year in 2012.  We have interviewed many of the participants in the flight test program at Eglin AFB, Fort Worth and Yuma Arizona. The standup of the first F-35B squadron with the USMC is part of an overall innovation approach being…

Shaping the Way Ahead for Airpower: General Hostage Focuses on the Future

01/24/2013
2013-01-24 Second Line of Defense and AOL Defense Board of Contributor Members Dr. Robbin Laird and Lt. General Dave Deptula USAF (Retired) sat down in mid December 2012 with General Mike Hostage, the Commander, Air Combat Command, with headquarters at Langley Air Force Base, Va. As the commander, he is…

Next Steps for F-35C

01/24/2013
2013-01-23 When we visited Eglin to talk with pilots and maintainers of the F-35 at the Training Facility last August, we passed by the area where the USN is getting ready for its variant of the F-35. https://www.sldinfo.com/an-update-on-the-f-35-integrated-training-center-at-eglin-afb/ It is expected to come to the facility later this year, and…

Second F-35A Posts 500 Flight Hours

01/24/2013
2013-01-23 According to a Lockheed Martin press release: AF-1, joined the 500 flight hour club recently during its 272nd flight. It joins AF-2 which passed the milestone June 26, 2012. The conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) fighter begin flight operations when it made its inaugural flight Nov. 14, 2009. The…

Shaping Operational Flexibility: An Interview with Major General Owens

01/20/2013
2013-01-20 Second Line of Defense had a chance to talk with Major General Christopher Owens, Commanding General, 1st MAW in mid-December towards the end of a major USMC exercise in the Pacific. http://www.1stmaw.marines.mil/ https://slsp.manpower.usmc.mil/gosa/biographies/rptBiography.asp?PERSON_ID=2072&PERSON_TYPE=General Second Line of Defense had a chance to talk with Major General Christopher Owens, Commanding General, 1st…

Allies and Partners in a 21st Century Pacific Strategy

01/17/2013
2013-01-17 by Robbin Laird The 21st century is not the 20th.  But this is too often forgotten when it comes to shaping an effective military and security strategy. [caption id="attachment_48733" align="alignnone" width="232"] Any US-China rivalry in the Pacific really revolves around who has the most effective allied strategy. Credit Image:…