2016-04-06 By Robbin Laird Air Commodore Steve “Zed” Roberton knows about airpower transitions. He led the transition in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from F-111 to Super Hornet, Commanded the RAAF’s initial Air Task Group to the Middle East, where for the first time the RAAF took an integrated…
2016-04-06 This report provides an update of the roll out of the F-35 as of March 31, 2016. The report is based on interviews with pilots, maintainers, testers and industrialists involved with the program. The F-35 is not a future program; it is here now. The Marines already have their…
2016-04-06 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake During the OT-2 aboard the USS Wasp, a young British maintainer made a simple point about the F-35: Lt. Cdr. Kitchen from the Royal Navy commented during a round table aboard the Wasp in May 2015: “The F-35 can be surrounded by myth…
2016-04-01 By Robbin Laird During my March 2016 visit to Australia to attend the Airpower Conference on Multi-Domain Integration and the Williams Foundation Seminar on New Approaches to Air-Land Integration, I had a chance to meet with Air Marshal Davies throughout those sessions and then to meet at his office…
2016-03-31 According to a Joint Program Office Press Release, a new weapon has been added to the bow for the F-35 as the archer. An F-35C Lightning II launched its first AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) over the Atlantic Test Ranges on 23 March. Test aircraft, CF-05, cleanly released the 1,000-pound air-to-surface…
2016-03-30 By Robbin Laird During the first day of the RAAF Conference on Airpower, I had a chance to sit down and to talk with the Deputy Chief of Staff of the RAAF, Air Vice-Marshal McDonald. This is the third time I have had the opportunity to interview him, initially…
2016-03-24 By Edward Timperlake and Robbin Laird An organization is known by the individuals that make it successful, and there is no more demanding organization than a Combat Fighter Squadron. To become a successful fighter pilot it all begins with their first tour Squadron experience in beginning their personal journey…
2016-03-25 By Robbin Laird The RAAF’s Williamtown Air Base is the home of key current combat assets, the historic home of several legacy air assets, and the future home of a major part of the F-35 capability. This was my third visit to the base, the first being to 2nd…
