The Indian Fighter Competition and the Future of Eurofighter

06/29/2011
06/29/2011 - While attending the Paris air show in June, Second Line of Defense sat down with a senior Eurofighter executive to discuss Eurofighter in the Indian fighter competition.  A special focus of our efforts has been upon the intersection between the future evolution of the Eurofighter and the Indian…

The Chinese Quest

06/27/2011
By Richard McCormack Manufacturing News, May 31, 2011 06/06/2011 - China has embarked on a goal of becoming the world’s leader in science, technology, invention, innovation and commercialization through a wide range of “techno-nationalistic” policies, spending programs and incentives. [caption id="attachment_19945" align="alignleft" width="178" caption="(Credit: CENTRA Technology, Inc.)"][/caption] It is receiving…

Eurofighter at The Paris Air Show: The Indian Dimension

06/22/2011
06/22/2011 By Robbin Laird What are the strategic potentials of a Eurofighter in India from an industrial point of view?  Much depends on what India is able to do and can re-organize itself to do.  If properly organized, India could shape a significant aerospace future and Eurofighter could become a…

21st Century Air Capabilities

06/18/2011
By Dr. Robbin Laird 06/18/2011 - 21st century air capabilities are built around the three “M”s.  The aircraft need to be multi-mission and manufactured to be significantly more maintainable than 20th century aircraft. The Three "M"s (Credit: SLD) In today’s world, the acquisition of aircraft in financially stringent environments favors…

Assessing the Evolution of the Global Market

06/18/2011
By Dr. Robbin Laird 06/19/2011 - The opportunity to discuss the potential impacts of Indian and Brazilian fighter competitions on the next phase of global development presented itself when I crossed paths with Reuben Johnson at the Airbus Military Trade Media event in mid-May SLD: I’m talking to Reuben Johnson,…

An Update on the A330MRTT Tanker: May 2011

06/17/2011
06/17/2011: Antonio Caramazana, Head of Airbus Military Derivatives Program, provided an update on the A330MRTT Tanker at the Airbus Trade Media event in mid-May 2011. The 2010 update can be found in an earlier article on the website https://www.sldinfo.com/?p=9376.  In this article, the basic capabilities of the tanker were highlighted…

An Update on the A400M Program

06/16/2011
06/16/2011: Cédric Gautier, head of the A400M program, provided an update on the program at the Airbus Trade Media event in mid-May 2011. [slidepress gallery='an-update-on-the-a400m-program'] Photo Credit: Airbus Military Gautier started by providing an overview on the aircraft itself.  He argued that this is “a new modern aircraft with modern…