2018-01-31 By Robbin Laird The CH-53K is in the final phase of getting ready to enter into service. The final phase of preparation includes the wrap up of testing at West Palm Beach, the conclusion of testing at Pax River, and the validation of maintenance procedures at the base, which…
2018-01-20 by Robbin Laird In March, I will be back in Australia and will be writing the latest report for The Williams Foundation, with this year's seminar year starting with a look at the key challenge of shifting from the land wars to higher tempo and higher intensity operations. I…
2018-01-06 The Spanish Air Force has received its second A400M as well as having recently refueled six Spanish Air Force F-18 fighters in a single mission as part of certification flight. According to a Spanish Air Force article published on December 29, 2017, the Spanish Air Force has taken delivery…
2017-12-04 The C-130J is clearly a very flexible combat asset. The Marines have expanded the envelope of their KC-130J as they have added Harvest Hawk several years ago and are adding communication and ISR integration capabilities which allow the aircraft to be a key element in the evolving digital interoperability…
2017-11-13 By Todd Miller It’s early and the darkness feels more like night than day. Flight crew gathers at the 305th Air Mobility Wings (AMW) base operations, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL), NJ. Paperwork in order and mission plan briefed, we leave base ops for the aircraft. The sun cracks the…
2017-10-09 By Todd Miller “It’s go time!” The crew announcement snaps me from my sleep. It’s near zero hundred and we fly in dark skies over western Missouri. The anticipation amps up on FORCE 26, a 305th Air Mobility Wing (AMW) KC-10 from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ (JBMDL). I hurriedly…
2017-10-14 According to a UK MoD article published on September 26, 2017, the Welsh based RAF Valley Air Station has been modernized to play its role in the introduction of the F-35 and the evolution of the Typhoon-F-35 core to the RAF strike force. The station is primarily used for…
2017-09-26 Recently, the French, Norwegian and German Air Forces have added new tanking capabilities to their forces. And in the Norwegian and German cases did so under a collective European defense acquisition approach. In a press release dated September 7, 2017, Airbus Defence and Space noted the first flight of…
