India Flies Indigenous Fighter at the Bahrain Air Show, 2016: First Flight Outside Indian Airspace

01/26/2016
2016-01-26  The Indians have developed and are building their own fighter aircraft in the form of the Tejas aircraft. According to the Indian Aeronautical Development Agency: India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) together with its variants, is the smallest and lightest Multi-Role Supersonic Fighter Aircraft of its class. This single engine,…

Australian and Chinese Naval Exercises: Shaping a Way Ahead

01/23/2016
2016-01-23 Recently, the Royal Australian Navy conducted an exercise with the Chinese Navy on its way to the Middle East. And last Fall, the RAN visited China and made port calls and performed a rescue exercise as well. According to the Australian Ministry of Defence in a piece published on January 4,…

The Rolling Air Frame Missile: A Very Successful International Program

01/23/2016
2016-01-23 When the US Navy declared IOC on the Rolling Air Frame Missile Block 2 in 2014, you would barely know of its origins. The Navy declared initial operational capability (IOC) on Raytheon’s Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Block 2, which brings greater accuracy and maneuverability to the self-defense system, the company…

Training Peshmerga

01/22/2016
01/22/2015: Earlier, we have argued that the training of the Peshmerga is a significant element of not only defeating ISIS but in building a post-Baghdad transition in Iraq. Here we are providing a series of updates on that training effort, being engaged in by the United States and several key…

The Fight Against ISIS: The Russians and the French Go After Fixed Targets With Cruise Missiles

01/22/2016
2016-01-22 The Russians and the French started to use cruise missiles against ISIS fixed targets starting in December. For the Russians, President Putin announced in December 2015, that Kalibr cruise missiles had been fired by the submered Rostov-on-Don submarine from the Mediterranean for the first time. He said TU-22 bombers also…

Military Sealift Command’s Tanker Fleet: Sea Services Con-Ops Drives Up Demand

01/20/2016
2016-01-19 By Robbin Laird, Ed Timperlake, and Murielle Delaporte The U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command operates the logistical foundation for the U.S. sea services and provides key support to allies as well. The fleet is being modernized but is facing the challenge of supporting the evolving concepts of operations of the…