Leadership is More than a Title — It is a Calling

04/09/2025
By Lt. General (Retired) David Deptula Leadership is more than a title — it is a calling. Few have answered that call with the depth of dedication, intellect, and vision that Michael Wynne demonstrated as the 21st Secretary of the United States Air Force. Wynne led with an unwavering commitment…

CMV-22B and Distributed Maritime Operations: A Key Enabler

04/03/2025
By CAPT (Ret) Christoper C. Misner, Senior Manager, Bell Strategic Pursuits The U.S. National Defense Strategy prioritizes the Indo-Pacific as a critical theater for national security. Yet, the current U.S. Navy fleet would likely struggle to meet the logistical demands of the Joint Force across the vast maritime distances involved in…

The U.S. Navy and the “Hybrid Fleet”

03/26/2025
By George Galdorisi The U. S. Navy stands at the precipice of a new era of technology advancement. In an address at a military-industry conference, then-U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Gilday, revealed the Navy’s goal to grow to 500 ships, to include 350 crewed ships and 150 uncrewed…

The Next Steps in Working Distributed Aviation Operations: 2nd MAW Works the Challenge

03/16/2025
By Robbin Laird When I interviewed the Commanding General of 2nd Marine Air Wing last summer, he underscored the importance for the Marines to craft a way ahead with regard to distributed air operations. This is how we discussed the issue at that time: We then discussed distributed air operations…

A Tiltrotor Enterprise: From Iraq to the Future

03/10/2025
We have published a new book in our airpower and naval modernization series. This book focuses on the Osprey and its evolution since 2007. As the United States faces a global overload of strategic challenges and the concomitant challenge of shaping an effective and capable force to deal with these…

Building Blocks for the USMC Force Distribution Approach

03/09/2025
By Robbin Laird The Marines like the other services in the U.S. military have been focusing on how to distribute their forces for both their core missions and in support of joint and coalition operations. Force distribution has been necessitated by the growth of precision strike available to both peer…

The Payload Revolution: Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Decision-Making

02/26/2025
By Robbin Laird When I visited VADM Miller, then the Navy’s Air Boss, in 2020, I learned of something called MISR. No not a cheap person, but the Navy’s rethink of how to work the left side of the kill chain or to expand its capability to provide the data…

Integrated Training Exercise 1-25: The CH-53K Contributes

02/23/2025
As the Trump Administration considers a way ahead for U.S. forces, support for the USMC should be front and center. Multi-domain warfare delivered by a survivable and lethal force is at the heart of effective distributed operations. The Maines have crafted the most advanced air enablement capability for the ground…