2018-02-19 By Guy Martin South Africa’s shipbuilding industry produces hundreds of vessels every year, with more than 90% being exported, and this includes naval vessels, from rigid-hulled inflatables to large patrol boats. South Africa’s naval shipbuilding industry took off during the Second World War, when ships up to 14 000…
2018-02-19 UK forces have been present in various exercises in Asia and the UK and the Australians are working closely together as the two countries shape a 21st century combat force. There is a clear interactivity between the RAAF and the RAF rethink about 21st century air combat power as well.…
2018-02-19 Recently, the UK Ministry of Defence signed an agreement with the US to support RAF C-17 heavy lift transport aircraft into the next decade. According to a story published on the UK Ministry of Defence website: The Foreign Military Sale agreement will provide support for the RAF’s fleet of eight…
2018-02-15 By Robbin Laird Helsinki, Finland During my current visit to Helsinki, I had a chance to meet and to discuss the way ahead for Finnish defense with Janne Kuusela, Director General, Defense Policy Department of the Finnish Ministry of Defence. According to the Finnish Ministry of Defence website: The…
2018-02-14 By Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha (Retd) New Delhi. The age old debate rages on worldwide between strategists of both blocks, the ayes and naysayers, on the relevance of the aircraft carriers with respect to their combat power vs. vulnerability. This has undergone periodic pendulous harmonics. Whether it is the…
2018-02-14 By Robbin Laird Helsinki, Finland During my visit to Helsinki during the week of February 11, 2018, I had the chance to sit down with Matti Pesu, a research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. https://www.fiia.fi/en/expert/matti-pesu In a paper published late last year entitled “What non-alignment? Finland’s…
2018-02-11 Recently, the Finnish Minister of Defence Jussi Niinistö met with Commander of the United States Army, General Mark A. Milley in Helsinki. According to a press release on the Finnish MoD website: Earlier General Milley followed a readiness unit's live fire exercise at the Karelia Brigade. The visit is…
2018-02-11 By Robbin Laird The Queen visited RAF Marham in early February to open officially the F-35 facility at the base. According to an ITV report dated February 2, 2018: The Queen has taken a tour of RAF Marham in Norfolk to see how it is preparing for the arrival…
