By Kenneth Maxwell Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (1869-1955) was known during his lifetime as "Mr. Five Per Cent.” This was after his personal share of Middle East oil. He has remained a very elusive historical individual, a spider at the heart of a veritable global web, an oilman and financier, who…
By Robbin Laird In 2012, I wrote a piece for Breaking Defense which focused on the Bold Alligator Exercise that year and how the image of change was difficulty to see. The coming of the Osprey was about to totally change amphibious operations, but because it was an amphibious exercise, folks…
By Pierre Tran Paris - French electronics company Thales expects to bring greater network connection and speeded up responses as contributions to the Future Combat Air System, a project key to the concept of European defense backed by president Emmanuel Macron. “Clearly the role that we intend to play, in…
The Russians have expanded the perimeter of their defense capabilities in the Arctic and in so doing have raised concerns from the other Arctic powers. This is clearly a core concern for the Nordics and an important input to their defense modernization efforts, nationally and collectively. And certainly, the Nordic…
A P-51 Mustang and an F-35A Lightning II fly in formation during the Twilight Show at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., May 17, 2019. The Twilight Show allowed air and ground crews to practice processes and procedures a day before the Defenders of Liberty Air & Space Show LA, UNITED…
By Robbin Laird With the central role which crisis management will play for the US and its allies, a key area of change is in the area of C2. Distributed operations which will be an essential part of the strategic shift will require distributed C2. And C2 will have to…
From 17 to 25 May 2019 , the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and his escort conducted a series of exercises in the Bay of Bengal with representatives from the United States Marines, Australia and Japan. [maxgallery id="125387"] Dubbed "La Pérouse", this series of naval exercises allows France to maintain…
By Brendan Nicholson Australia’s new chief defence scientist says she has taken on the role at a time when the Australian Defence Force is becoming increasingly receptive to game-changing capabilities. ‘That, to me, is really critical’, Professor Tanya Monro says. A physicist, Monro was working in Britain 15 years ago…
