Thirteen photographs from April 7, 2026, document a full operational day for the UH-1Y Venom near Yuma, Arizona, as part of Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course 2-26. The day moves from the MCAS Yuma ramp through rappelling operations in the rocky desert mountains, a hot-pad turnaround at a forward site,…
By Pasquale Preziosa In June 2026, the world watched with concern as the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz unfolded. Once again, a stretch of sea just a few dozen kilometers wide proved capable of influencing energy markets, military strategies, and political decisions of powers thousands of kilometers away. During…
By Robbin Laird This article is the convergence point of several analytical projects I have pursued in recent years: the breakdown of the post–Cold War order and the global war in Ukraine, the reconfiguration of power across key middle states such as Australia and Brazil in the shadow of China’s…
By Robbin Laird When the history of the Navy’s transition from kill chain to kill web is written, the creation of the Maritime ISR Weapons and Tactics Instructor — the MISR WTI — will be recognized as one of the foundational moves. The program did not emerge from a requirements…
By Robbin Laird James (Jim) Rebesco is the co-founder and chief executive of Striveworks, an Austin, Texas-based company now seven years old that works with the U.S. Army, Navy, and defense intelligence community to deploy and sustain artificial intelligence in operational environments. His background is as a PhD in computational…
By Robbin Laird Nine photographs from April 4, 2026, at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, document the UAS tactics exercise conducted as part of Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course 2-26. The subject is the MQ-9A Reaper, operated in Marine Corps service by MAWTS-1, and the Ground Control Station from which its…
By Robbin Laird A light rain fell over the parade field at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point on the morning of June 16, 2026, but it did nothing to slow the proceedings. Under a covered pavilion ringed with the stadium-style red seats that mark official functions on the station,…
By Pierre Tran Paris – Germany pulled out of building a new generation fighter (NGF) with France, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz June 10 recasting cooperation around developing a combat cloud for command and control over air, land, sea, and space. “This presents a great opportunity for a central Franco-German defense…
