Middle Powers in a Changing World: How Australia and Brazil Navigate the China Dynamic

05/12/2025
By Robbin Laird and Kenneth Maxwell In today’s rapidly evolving global order, middle powers find themselves in an increasingly complex position as they balance economic opportunity against strategic independence. Two nations, Australia and Brazil, offer a fascinating case study in how different countries are responding to China’s rise while pursuing…

An Update on French Defense: May 2025

05/09/2025
By Pierre Tran Paris – There have been few national orders for French military aircraft and space systems since the start of the year, following a drop of a third in domestic defense aerospace orders last year from 2023, Guillaume Faury, chair of Groupement des Industries Françaises Aéronautiques et Spatiales…

The Paradigm Shift in Maritime Operations: Expanding the Impact of Capabilities for Distributed Maritime Effects

05/04/2025
By Robbin Laird At the recent Navy League meetings held during the first week of April, I had a chance to talk with several companies and analysts about the evolution of maritime capabilities and what the U.S. and allies could do to ramp up the capabilities of the “fight tonight…

The Paradigm Shift in Maritime Operations: What Potential Role for Future Tiltrotor Systems?

04/24/2025
By Robbin Laird In my forthcoming book on the paradigm shift in maritime operations, I focus on the importance of pairing distributed capital ship operations with the capabilities that air vehicles and autonomous systems can provide to deliver maritime effects in a contested environment. To achieve competitive overmatch in the…

The Textron Aviation Defense Offering for the U.S. Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System

04/22/2025
By Robbin Laird At the recent Sea-Air-Space Conference held in National Harbor, Maryland, Textron Aviation Defense was featuring its offering for the Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System. The Navy seeks to replace the aging T-45 Goshawk — with the candidates being the multi-engine Textron Aviation Defense-Leonardo-M-346N, the single-engine Boeing-Saab T-7…