UK MoD’s Shropshire Military Support Hub

09/15/2018
The UK MoD opened up a new military support hub last year to support UK force operations. A recent article on the UK MoD website highlighted the development. Defence Minister Stuart Andrew visited the £83 million Defence Fulfilment Centre (DFC) after touring the armoury and current logistic facilities on-site at…

The Weapons Revolution: A Look at the Strategic Context of Weapons Modernization

09/14/2018
By Robbin Laird On August 23, 2018, the Williams Foundation in Canberra, Australia held its latest seminar on military modernization.  This seminar focused on the evolution of joint strike and the importance for Australia to develop an independent deterrent. One of the key elements of discussion was the evolving nature…

The Williams Foundation Seminar on Independent Strike: An Overview

09/14/2018
By Robbin Laird On August 23, 2018, the Williams Foundation held its latest seminar, this one on independent strike. The seminar represents a next phase of examination of the way ahead for the ADF. Over the past five years, the seminars have focused on the introduction of the F-35 and the…

The Second Nuclear Age and the Return of the Nuclear Issue for Australia

09/13/2018
We have focused for some time on the question of the return of the nuclear issue for US and allied defense. Our colleague, Paul Bracken, has forcefully focused on this issue in his work on the second nuclear age, and his work has certainly underscored the forceful return of the…

F-35 2.0 and Changing the Defense Eco-System

09/13/2018
By Robbin Laird We have argued for more than a decade that leveraging fifth generation aircraft allowed for the re-norming of airpower. With the evolution of the F-35 and with the buy of the aircraft by several key allies, those allies are starting to introduce the aircraft into their forces,…

Onboard the USS Kearsarge with the 22nd MEU

09/12/2018
By Todd Miller The 22ndMarine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) VMM-264 Reinforced takes us on board the USS Kearsarge during deployment work-ups For many, the Marines will always be defined by the tenacious and bloody battles in the South Pacific during WWII. Rightly so. Today, these specialists in amphibious warfare and mobility…

The Indian-US Defense Partnership: New Steps Forward

09/11/2018
By Richard Weitz The inaugural meeting of the U.S.-India ‘two-plus-two’format that met on September 6, 2018 in New Delhi made substantial progress in deepening and broadening the bilateral defense relationship. Now the challenge is to seize the opportunities generated by the new format. The September 6 meeting brought together Indian…

Finnish Air Force in Air-to-Air Refueling Training with USAF

09/06/2018
Karelia Air Command conducts Air-to-Air Refueling (AAR) training for F/A-18 pilots in cooperation with the 100th Air Refueling Wing, United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), from 11 to 13 September. In total 8-14 F/A-18 Hornet multi-role fighters from Karelia, Lapland and Satakunta Air Commands will participate in the training.…