Robbin Laird During a visit to Amberley Airbase, Murielle Delaporte and I had a chance to talk with Group Captain Steve Pesce, Officer Commanding 86 Wing, comprising the RAAF’s C-17, KC-30A, B300, CL604 and B737 fleets. We discussed his perspectives on the future of air tanking, and specifically the next…
Recently, Australia more than doubled its F-35A fleet when Lockheed Martin delivered three F-35As (AU3, AU4 and AU5) to the Royal Australian Air Force team stationed at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, USA. These are Australia's first Block 3F Lightning II 'Mission Ready' jets which are being used to train…
Interview with Paul Bracken In February, the U.S. Department of Defense released the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, a report that outlines the state of the nation’s arsenal of nuclear weapons and the threats it faces from other nuclear powers, as well as recommending policies and strategies for the future of the…
F-35B Lighting IIs assigned to the "Avengers" of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211 participate in a Surface Warfare Advanced Tactical Training (SWATT) exercise and Maj. Chris Brandt, F-35B pilot assigned to VMFA 211, conducts an interview on the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) in the Pacific…
Lance Cpl. Taryn Escott, Marine Corps Forces Central Command AFB MACDILL, Fla. -- The F-35B Lightning II aircraft arrived at U.S. Central Command on MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., April 4, 2018. The purpose of the two-day visit was to inform CENTCOM senior leadership on the capabilities and limitations of…
By Robbin Laird During my visit with Murielle Delaporte to RAAF Williamtown in mid-March 2018, we had a chance to meet with Air Commodore (AIRCDRE) Craig Heap the Commander of the RAAF’s Surveillance and Response Group (SRG). I have had a chance twice before to talk with AIRCDRE Heap as…
Richard Weitz The Trump administration is skeptical of nuclear disarmament, but supports arms control and strategic stability measures, under appropriate conditions, designed to keep state competition constrained. Specifically, the administration recognizes that arms control, along with other measures, can bolster the security of the United States, its allies, and U.S.…
Over the last decade, African arms imports dropped by 22 per cent, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), but Algeria, Morocco and Nigeria continued to order large quantities of weapons and equipment. According to an article published by our partner defenceWeb, the trends were discussed leveraging a…
