The Way Ahead for Norwegian Airpower: The Perspective of the Vice Chief of the Norwegian Air Force

05/20/2018
By Robbin Laird During my visit to Norway in April 2018, I had a chance to meet with and discuss the Norwegian way ahead on airpower with Brigadier General Aage Longva, Vice Chief of the Norwegian Air Force. We met at his office at Rygge Air Station south of Oslo.…

The USMC and Norway: A Key Partnership in Shaping a 21st Century Deterrent Force

05/20/2018
The Marines are regular visitors to Norway and have prepositioned equipment in country.  As the Marines fly F-35Bs in the region and as the Norwegians continue to stand up their F-35 force, collaboration in this area will be accelerated as well. Working a diversity of basing options within a crisis…

US-French Airwings at Work

05/18/2018
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson and Chief of the French navy Adm. Christophe Prazuck use the ship’s loudspeaker system (1MC) to address U.S. and French sailors embarked aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77).  The ship is seen in the Atlantic Ocean conducting carrier…

Gen. Riccardo Marchiò, Commander NATO Joint Force Command Visits Multinational Battlegroup Estonia

05/18/2018
In a story published on the Italian Ministry of Defence website, the visit official trip of the newly appointed Commander Nato Joint Force Command (JFC)- Brunssum (NL), Gen. Riccardo Marchiò, was discussed. During his visits to the Battlegroups deployed in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia under German, Canadian an UK leadership, respectively,…

The First Japan-Australia Defence Industry Forum

05/17/2018
On March 6th, the Japan-Australia Public-Private Defence Industry Forum was jointly held for the first time by the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) and the Department of Defence of Australia. In the forum, both goverments shared information with participating companies on systems and structures surrounding defense industries of their…

An Update on Japanese F-35s, May 15, 2018

05/17/2018
In a press conference held by the Japanese Defense Minister, he provided an update on the standup of Japanese F-35s in Japan. I will provide a report on the additional deployment of F-35A aircraft to the Misawa Air Base. The concrete schedule of the additional deployment of Air Self-Defense Force…

UK F-35s Coming to RAF Marham in June 2018

05/17/2018
We recently visited RAF Marham and will report on that visit along with visits to RAF Coningsby and Portsmouth as well. On May 16, 2018, the UK Ministry of Defence announced the imminent arrival of the first jets for the Dambusters squadron. Gavin Williamson confirmed the imminent arrival of the…

A Norwegian Perspective on Cross Border Training North

05/17/2018
By Robbin Laird During a visit to Bodø Airbase on April 25, 2018, I had a chance to discuss Norwegian Air Force training with the Finns and the Swedes as they expand their cooperation to provide for enhanced regional defense. Major Trond Ertsgaard, Senior Operational Planner and fighter pilot from…