I had the privilege of visiting Norfolk in the recent past and discussing the coming of the USS Gerald R. Ford with the first commander of Ford and then the commander of Naval Air Force Atlantic, Rear Admiral “Oscar” Meier. Last month, I had the chance to visit Norfolk once…
By Robbin Laird On 11 November 2024, I was in Rome and meeting with the Air Force Chief of Staff. Lt. General Luca Goretti. When I entered the building and walked to his office, the memory of my last visit to that office and with then COS Lt General Preziosa…
By Robbin Laird The U.S. faces a vastly different world than when it primarily focused on land wars post-9/11. Today it faces a multi-polar authoritarian world, with adversaries and competitors with both shared and competing interests, capabilities, and approaches to the use of military force to achieve objectives. With that…
By LtGen Steve Rudder (Retired) The Ukraine employment of Unmanned Surface Vessels (USV) in attacks on the Russian Black Sea Fleet represents a window into the lethality of swarming and autonomous unmanned surface vessels. Because of their small radar cross-section, high speed, and agile maneuverability, USVs are likely going to…
By Robbin Laird The Marines in focusing on EABOs have two key lift assets which can deliver autonomous systems payloads to an EABO and to do so with the reduced signature goal which has been highlighted by LtGen Heckl. Maritime autonomous systems can be delivered to an EABO via an…
The Marines are building new capabilities for force insertion which complement more traditional ways of operating. How do you insert force in various locations to hit the enemy where he isn’t? The basic concept of "hit where the enemy isn't" was well articulated in an interview, I did with the…
By Robbin Laird Generally, when autonomous systems are discussed in relation to manned systems, the focus is upon teaming. Images of the Australian Loyal Wingman come to mind whereby the autonomous system is seen as a slaved system to a manned aircraft, hence the term teaming. A key capability of…
By Robbin Laird In a visit to Quantico, I had a chance to talk with LtGen Karsten Heckl, who serves as the Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, and the Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration. I first met him when he was Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation,…
