The Australians Participate in Norwegian F-35 Missile Program

10/07/2015
2015-10-07 An element of the F-35 global enterprise is the possibility for allies to collaborate among themselves on building new missiles for the platform. Meteor is clearly one example and the Norwegian maritime strike missile is another. According to a story in Australian Aviation published on September 22, 2015: The…

The F-35 Global Enterprise: The Significance of the First Flight of the Italian Built F-35

10/06/2015
2015-10-06 By Robbin Laird The F-35 is not only not simply a replacement aircraft, but it is a global aircraft. And with the allies buying around 50% of the aircraft over the next few years, while Washington sorts out its strategy, the innovation driven by the allies will be significant…

Shaping a New Combat Capability for 21st Century Operations: The Coming of the F-35B to the New British Carrier

10/06/2015
2015-09-27 By Robbin Laird Earlier I have visited the Queen Elizabeth and discussed the initial approach to shaping a cross-modernization strategy for the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. The SLD team has visited the RAF based at Beaufort USMC Air Station and talked with the team there about…

The Importance of Innovation by Design for Combat Success: Building on the Legacy of Air Marshal Dowding

10/05/2015
2015-09-23 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Recently, General “Hawk” Carlisle underscored that the USAF is already engaged in reshaping the force to execute fifth generation warfare. It is important to look at the impact of the F-22 operations on the total force. We do not wish, nor do the…

Two 21st Century Air Systems Work Together: KC-30As Refuel F-35As

10/04/2015
2015-10-03 Recently, a KC-30A refueled a KC-30A with the new boom system. On 13 August 2015 two KC-30 aircraft from RAAF Amberley conducted a Air to Air refueling training sortie. The Australian Air Force KC-30 aircraft is carrying out an air to air refueling operation using the Airbus Defence and…

First Flight of Italian-built F-35

10/03/2015
10/03/2015: On Sept. 7, the first F-35A assembled outside the US, made its very first flight from Cameri airbase. The aircraft, designated AL-1, is the first of eight aircraft currently being assembled at the Final Assembly and Check Out (FACO) facility at Cameri, in northwestern Italy. During the flight, that lasted about…

The RAAF’s Air Combat Group in Transition

09/23/2015
2015-09-22 By Robbin Laird In this interview, the discussion continues with Group Captain Robert Denney, Chief of Staff, for the Air Combat Group. In an interview conducted at Williamtown Air base on August 12, 2015, Denney discussed the challenges of current operations and working the transition whereby Super Hornets have…