2015-02-11 The UK has added new tankers and is starting the process of adding a new airlifter to its lift fleet, the A400M. The arrival of the A400M at its new base in the UK was announced by the UK government as follows in a November 27, 2014 press release:…
2015-01-26 CVN 78 is being built to support a half century of air-breathing platform innovations. The new carrier will see the UCAS, the new Hawkeye, the Osprey and the F-35C come onboard. This is the beginning of the decade ahead of innovation. But what comes next? The new catapult and landing…
2015-01-24 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake The coming of the USS Gerald R. Ford sets in motion a very different type of large-deck carrier. The hull form of the Ford is a tribute to the very successful Nimitz-class hull design. That is where the comparisons basically end. As the…
2015-01-22 When visiting the Gerald R. Ford and making the trek to the bridge, one notices quickly that the deck space in front of the island is significantly expanded over a Nimitz class carrier. We talked with the Captain and a construction engineer about the changes on our visit to…
2015-01-22 Second Line of Defense visited the next generation carrier CVN 78 (Gerald R. Ford) on January 9, 2015. We had a chance to interview the Skipper of the ship, Captain John Meier, and afterwards tour the ship with the Captain and senior construction personnel. We will publish the interview…
2014-12-18 According to an Airbus Defence and Space press released dated December 18, 2014: Airbus Defence and Space has formally delivered the first Airbus A400M military transport ordered by Germany. [caption id="attachment_73404" align="alignnone" width="300"] The photograph shows the first German A400M during its maiden flight. Credit: Airbus Defence and Space.[/caption]…
2014-12-12 Eurofighter is continuing to progress with its weapons modernization program. Recent test firings of Storm Shadow by the Typhoon are a crucial step in the subsuming of some of the missions of the soon to be retired Tornado aircraft. According to a Eurofighter press release dated early December 2014:…
2014-12-13 The F-35 is built by a 21st century manufacturing approach. When viewing the assembly line in Fort Worth, the reality of assembling a stealth aircraft is evident. Less evident is the 21st century approaches taken by the core industrial partners and global suppliers who ship in the core sections…
