Standup of New QRA Squadron at RAF Lossiemouth

05/07/2019
During a visit to RAF Lossiemouth in June 2016, Second Line of Defense visits the Quick Reaction Alert team based there. We focused on the question of the nature of the pyramid necessary to launch QRA ready aircraft. https://sldinfo.com/royal-air-force-operations-and-evolving-concepts-of-operations-shaping-a-triple-transition/ When I visited RAF Lossiemouth in June 2016, I had a…

Fighting Hyper Sonic Cruise Missiles at the Speed of Light: The Role of 21st Century Dambusters

05/07/2019
By Ed Timperlake Operation Chastise was the brilliant merging of weapon research and engineering with the undaunted courage of Royal Air Force Number 617 Squadron, forevermore known as the Dambusters. In order to attack the industrial might of Germany the RAF and a brilliant scientist worked together to develop a…

The Australian Elections and Australian Shipbuilding

05/02/2019
By Marcus Hellyer Yesterday (April 29, 2019) from the election campaign trail in Western Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison made some naval shipbuilding announcements relating to the Royal Australian Navy’s mine-clearing and hydrographic capabilities. Speaking from the Henderson shipyard south of Perth, he announced that more ships would be built in ……

French-Australian Cultural Challenges and the Submarine Program

05/02/2019
In an article by Andrew Greene, defense correspondent for Australia's ABC news, the author leveraged Pierre Tran's article published on Second Line of Defense to discuss the French-Australian working relationship around which a new submarine is to be designed, built and launched. The story was published on April 26, 2019,…

Opening the F-35 Flight Envelope: The Perspective of a VMFAT-501 Pilot

04/30/2019
U.S. Marine Capt. Frank Zastoupil, F-35B Lighting II pilot with Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501, speaks about the capabilities of the F-35B Lighting II and its participation in the 2019 Air Show aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. March 01, 2019. MCAS Beaufort holds airshows to promote the Marine…

French Navy Traverses Taiwan Straits

04/30/2019
"China’s defence ministry said on Thursday that France ‘illegally enter[ed] Chinese waters’ after the Chinese navy warned a French warship to leave the Taiwan Strait earlier this month. "China has lodged an official protest at the ‘rare move’ by the French Navy, which has reaffirmed its commitment to ‘freedom of navigation under maritime law’.…

Visiting the Warlords: An April 2019 Update from the CO of VMFAT-501

04/29/2019
By Robbin Laird During my most recent visit to 2ndMarine Air Wing, I had a chance to visit MCAS Beaufort and meet with Lt. Col. Adam Levine, the CO of VMFAT-501, otherwise known as the Warlords. As the base was busy for the airshow being held the weekend of the…