By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake The standup of both Second Fleet in 2018 and Joint Force Command, Norfolk in 2019 have had very similar goals: how to enhance the combat capability of the entire allied maritime force in the North Atlantic? From this point of view, these are not…

By Flying Officer Bronwyn Marchant Four Air Force pilots on the first F-35A Lightning II operational conversion course to be run in Australia completed their first flights at RAAF Base Williamtown on February 2. The pilots began their training in January after graduating from the Introductory Fighter Course at No.…

By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Last Fall, 2nd Fleet hosted the 2020 version of Black Widow, an Atlantic-focused USW  exercise. But to be completely accurate, although the term ASW is most commonly used, what we are discussing is undersea warfare. USW is an integrated fight against all undersea threats,…

The Green Knights pioneered the standup of an operational F-35 squadron. They have been operating from Japan for the past four years. Capt. Anneliese Satz, a pilot assigned to the "Green Knights" of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, is seen working with Japanese Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) service members…

By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake The standup of C2F and Allied JFC Norfolk has occurred as allies are significantly reworking their approaches to deterrence and warfighting in the North Atlantic at the same time. It is the blend of the U.S. efforts with those of the allies which is…

By Robbin Laird Recently, the latest large deck carrier was at sea with the ITS Cavour.  One could describe this as a large deck carrier at sea with a smaller carrier but that would really miss the point. From the standpoint of what we are seeing with the launch of…

By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake When you visit 2nd Fleet and JFC Norfolk, you are acutely aware of the key role they play in working together to build out 21st century North Atlantic defense. Vice Admiral Lewis is the head of both commands, and the two commands work closely…

By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake As the Commander of 2nd Fleet and of JFC Norfolk put it in a recent article in The Proceedings: “In response to Russia’s military resurgence, the U.S. Navy reestablished Second Fleet (C2F) in 2018, and NATO’s North Atlantic Council announced the formal activation of…