On April 18, the U.S. Navy’s Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-147 ‘Argonauts,’ completed its first F-35C flight at Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore, Calif. The inaugural flight supports the squadron’s transition from the F/A-18E Super Hornet to the F-35C, marking a significant step forward in the integration of the F-35C weapons…
By Robbin Laird During my visit to Norway in April 2018, I had a chance to meet with and discuss the Norwegian way ahead on airpower with Brigadier General Aage Longva, Vice Chief of the Norwegian Air Force. We met at his office at Rygge Air Station south of Oslo.…
In a press conference held by the Japanese Defense Minister, he provided an update on the standup of Japanese F-35s in Japan. I will provide a report on the additional deployment of F-35A aircraft to the Misawa Air Base. The concrete schedule of the additional deployment of Air Self-Defense Force…
We recently visited RAF Marham and will report on that visit along with visits to RAF Coningsby and Portsmouth as well. On May 16, 2018, the UK Ministry of Defence announced the imminent arrival of the first jets for the Dambusters squadron. Gavin Williamson confirmed the imminent arrival of the…
By Robbin Laird During my visit to Ørland Airbase, I had a chance to talk with Brigadier General Aage Longva, Vice Chief of the Norwegian Air Force, whose last post was Wing Commander at Ørland Airbase as well as with Lt. Col. Eirik Guldvog, XO/COS 132 Wing Commander. Those interviews…
RAAF Base Williamtown hosted one of the world’s largest cargo aircraft, an Antonov An-124 on Wednesday 2 May, and Thursday 3 May to deliver F-35A training equipment. The equipment – an F-35 Weapons Load Trainer (WLT) and Ejection Seat Maintenance Trainer (ESMT), unloaded and installed in the Australian F-35 Integrated…
F-35B Lightning II pilots with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit perform flight operations aboard the USS Wasp (LHD-1) during Certification Exercise, April 13, 2018. The 31st MEU and Amphibious Squadron 11 conduct Certification Exercise as the final evaluation in a series of training exercises which ensures readiness for crisis response…
Marines with Combat Logistic Battalion 31, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, are now capable of “‘‘additive manufacturing,’“ also known as 3-D printing. This innovative process uses 3-D printing software to break down a digital model into layers that can be reproduced by the printer. The printer then builds the model from…
