2017-10-05 Approximately 50% of the airplanes coming off of the final assembly line at Fort Worth are partner F-35s. And because of how the supply chain is designed, companies in partner states not only play a key role of that partner's plane but on the global enterprise as well. This…
2017-09-13 By Robbin Laird The UK has announced its new shipbuilding strategy, one which seeks to leverage the modularity approach introduced by building the new Queen Elizabeth class carriers. Now the First Sea Lord has addressed the question of the role of the maritime sector in generating broader defense transformation.…
2017-09-12 The Aussies last year launched their new shipbuilding strategy. Now Australia has been joined by the UK officially launched its new strategy. And this one is informed by a very successful national mobilization effort to deliver modules to a central assembly point and to then put together the largest…
2017-09-12 The second Queen Elizabeth Carrier is progressing on its way to sea. In a story published by the UK Ministry of Defence website on September 8, 2017, the second of the Royal Navy’s two future flagships being built by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, was officially named HMS Prince of Wales.…
2017-09-04 By Todd Miller Going five for five in the complex, methodical and engineering-driven military aircraft test regimes is rare. Weather, range logistics, recording equipment, aircraft readiness or one of any other number of details typically conspire to scrub a test flight. This past July the Textron Aviation Defense Team…
2017-08-23 By Robbin Laird I have been writing for some time about the strategic shift or one could call revolution to building software upgradeable systems. The new multi-mission platforms on sea or in the air such as the Australian ANZAC Class frigates or the Wedgetail are simply different from legacy…
08/21/2017: The Royal Australian Navy’s newest ship, the air warfare destroyer (AWD) NUSHIP Hobart, arrived in her home port of Sydney for the first time prior to her commissioning in September. The future HMAS Hobart is the first of three Hobart Class destroyers. In 2017, Hobart successfully completed builder and acceptance…
2017-08-19 With the declining numbers of Tornados (the RAF is already on a clear sunset schedule) the German Air Force is closing its training facility in New Mexico. The German air force has entered its final stage of departure, however they are not expected to complete their departure from Holloman…