Tiltrotor in the Changing Context of Pacific Defense and Deterrence: New Book

07/09/2023
According to a 2012 Congressional Research Service Report: “In the fall of 2011, the Obama Administration issued a series of announcements indicating that the United States would be expanding and intensifying its already significant role in the Asia- Pacific, particularly in the southern part of the region. The fundamental goal…

Germany and the European Sky Shield Initiative: A July 2023 Update

07/05/2023
By Pierre Tran Paris - Germany has kept the door open to France and Italy joining Berlin’s project for an extended European missile defense system in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a senior German government official said June 30. “The European Sky Shield Initiative is open to all…

An Update on the Future Combat Air System: Paris Air Show 2023 Update

06/22/2023
By Pierre Tran Paris - Belgium has joined as an observer to the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), adding a fourth nation to a partnership which bears French ambitions to boost European defense, amid perception of a leadership competition between France and Germany. “The participation of Belgium as observer will…

Placing the Re-configured Maintenance and Sustainment Enterprise into Strategic Context

06/14/2023
By Robbin Laird When looking at the coming of the CH-53K to the fleet, it is shaped considerably by the air systems approach. The aircraft has been guided throughout its life by a digital thread approach which is focused on concurrently shaping development, with testing, with build, with sustainment efforts…

Visiting the CH-53K Manufacturing Line Five Years Later: From 2018 to 2023

06/13/2023
By Robbin Laird I first visited the Sikorsky plant in Stratford, Connecticut in 2018 to view the beginning efforts to standup the production line for the new build CH-53K helicopter. I returned in May 2023 to see the progress in doing so as the CH-53K begins its journey to the…

Eagle Resolve 23

06/04/2023
U.S. Central Command and the Saudi Armed Forces conduct a multilateral exercise between the nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This exercise is designed to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to GCC partners, and regional security and stability. Eagle Resolve 23 (ER23) is conducted bi-annually with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)…

MARTAC Launches the Devil Ray T24: The Next Phase in the Evolution of a Combat-Ready Unmanned Surface Vessel

06/01/2023
By Robbin Laird MARTAC has been working on autonomous maritime systems for more than a decade. They have worked from the beginning on USVs that worked together rather than simply being lone wolf systems; they operate as wolfpacks. In the past decade, they developed two workhorse USVs and have taken…

Eric Trappier Provides on Update on the Rafale and European Airpower: May 2023

05/27/2023
By Pierre Tran Paris - The closed communications system of the F-35 posed problems for flying cooperative combat missions with the planned European Future Combat Air System (FCAS), Eric Trappier, executive chairman of Dassault Aviation, told French senators May 24. “Collaborative combat” consisted of close links between fighter jets, effectively…