2012-12-02 by Robbin Laird The ceremony to declare the USS Enterprise inactive was held yesterday. After a glorious career, and after shaping many innovations in Naval history, the USS Enterprise enters into history. [caption id="attachment_48170" align="alignnone" width="300"] USS Enterprise over the years. Graphic Credit: Huntington Ingalls [/caption] It is an…
2012-11-30 by Robbin Laird Ed Timperlake has pioneered work on how to understand the entire approach to re-thinking what the new generation of combat air is really all about. To capture the difference between his generation of aircraft and the F-35, Timperlake has focused on what he calls the Z-axis and…
2012-11-30 Earlier Second Line of Defense had a wide-ranging discussion with Don Kinard of Lockheed Martin, one of the best production specialists in the aviation business today. In that conversation we focused on the approach to building wings for the F-35. https://www.sldinfo.com/the-f-35a-lands-at-eglin-what-does-that-say-about-the-current-state-of-production/ https://www.sldinfo.com/an-update-on-f-35-manufacturing-the-case-of-wing-assembly/ In our most recent visit to the F-35…
2012-11-29 Second Line of Defense visited MAWTS during the second week of November 2012. We did so knowing that the Marine Corps is focusing on the concurrent development of tactics and training with operations. In part, that is why the F-35 Bravo is being stood up at MCAS Yuma, the home…
The Marines have stood up their first squadron of F-35 Bs at MCAS Yuma. But the Marine Corps approach to the aircraft is built on recognition that it is a C2 and Information Warfare aircraft, which will be a central piece to the ACE or Aviation Combat Element of the…
2012-11-25 Second Line of Defense visited MAWTS a week prior to the official ceremony welcoming planes for the new F-35 squadron at the Marine Air Station at Yuma Arizona. We visited MAWTS last year to discuss the evolution of training and tactics associated with the V-22 as well as the…
2012-11-21 In a four-part follow up set of interviews, Second Line of Defense is looking at the role and impact of the USS America. Interviews have been conducted with the prospective commander of the ship, the head of amphibious ship building in the USN, a senior USMC general on its role,…
By James Gilbert, Yuma Sun A squadron that has been on the forefront of the most significant transition periods in the 100-year history of Marine Corps aviation did so again on Tuesday when it officially became the first operational squadron to fly the F-35B Lightning II. “I ask you to…
