By Robbin Laird The United States faces a critical strategic moment in the Pacific. While adversaries deploy operational capabilities — however imperfect — America continues to treat essential weapons systems as science projects rather than deployable assets. This is particularly true for hypersonic weapons, where the absence of a clear…
By Pierre Tran Paris - The key point on a planned European fighter jet lay in opting for clear program leadership with a prime contractor rather than assigning subcontractor work based on national funding, Dassault Aviation executive chairman Eric Trappier said July 22. French officers had conducted “an audit on…
By Robbin Laird The 2019 International Fighter Conference in Berlin brought together military leaders and industry representatives from nations living in the shadow of authoritarian powers. Their presentations, focused on airpower strategies for self-defense against existential threats from Russia and China, now read like a prophetic warning of conflicts to…
On July 28th, Textron Aviation Defense announced that it's proposing the Beechcraft M-346N jet trainer as a solution for the U.S. Navy's Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) program. The company has partnered with Leonardo in a teaming agreement to meet the Navy's requirements for this new aircraft procurement. The M-346N…
By Robbin Laird The comfortable world of middle power diplomacy is disappearing. For decades, countries like Brazil and Australia have thrived by maintaining strategic flexibility. They are trading with multiple partners, participating in diverse institutional frameworks, and avoiding definitive alignment with any single major power. This hedging strategy worked well…
In July 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled a new Pentagon drone policy, formally entitled "Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance." The idea is to have a sweeping overhaul designed to accelerate the acquisition, deployment, and use of small drones across the entire U.S. military. The policy shift comes at a…
Three and a half years after Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has undergone one of the most remarkable military transformations in modern history. What began as a desperate fight for survival has evolved into a sophisticated hybrid defense force that combines Western military technology with rapid domestic innovation, fundamentally reshaping how…
By Robbin Laird and Kenneth Maxwell The discourse surrounding contemporary international relations has become dominated by the phrase "great power competition," yet this framing may fundamentally mischaracterize the nature of today's global order. While policymakers and analysts frequently invoke this term to describe the strategic rivalry between the United States…
