By Robbin Laird Putin has clearly focused on expanding Russian influence in the areas of strategic interest to Russia. While the United States has diffused its efforts with an over emphasis on stability operations and counter-insurgency in the Middle East, the Russians have focused on their core interests and how…
By Richard Weitz One issue that will probably not be on the NATO summit agenda, but should be, is to develop a strategy for dealing with the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). NATO has consistently rejected to do so, dismissing the organization as a façade for Moscow’s aspirations for regional…
Undersecretary of State for Defence Angelo Tofalo recently participated in a workshop focused on "European Defence Initiatives: An Opportunity for the Italian Economy." According to a story published by the Italian Ministry of Defence on Jun e 26, 2018: The location of the event -organized by Assemblea Generale della Federazione aziende italiane per…
A new MBDA facility was officially opened during a July 2, 2018 ceremony during the visit of Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson. According to a Ministry of Defence article: An opening ceremony saw the Defence Secretary unveil a plaque to mark the completion of five years of work and £50 million…
As the land wars dominated the past 15 years, a number of key skill sets atrophied or certainly were drawn down. A core one was clearly anti-submarine warfare skill sets. As the defense of Northern Europe returns as a direct challenge to core NATO nations, recovering and building maritime domain…
By Robbin Laird During the past couple of years, I have focused on the part of Europe which is very serious about defense, namely, Northern Europe. The Danes, the Norwegians, the Swedes and the Finns, all have refocused efforts on defense of their nations, but in a broader regional context.…
By Robbin Laird Maintainability is a key aspect to ensure aircraft availability to support combat operations. The readiness crisis of the past few years has also included the challenge of upgrading maintenance support efforts as well. The strategic shift from counter-insurgency to preparing for force-on-force conflict and a more rapid…
The Ministry of Defence’s hunt for gamers and amateur coders to become cyber Reserves has led to a massive increase in applications, creating an elite force of specialists ready to support operations using their unique cyber skills. According to the UK Ministry of Defence in an article published on June…
